Manufacturing giant Foxconn has
signed a patent deal that will see it pay royalties to Microsoft for
every Android phone it makes, Microsoft said Thursday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed but numerous reports said it
was Microsoft's biggest patent deal to date and could be worth
hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
Microsoft said that the deal covers all Foxconn products running
on the Android or Chrome operating systems, both of which are made by
Google. The agreement includes smartphones, tablets and televisions,
Microsoft said.
Microsoft has similar deals in place with Samsung, HTC, LG and
other major manufacturers of Android devices. But Motorola Mobility,
which was bought by Google last year, largely for its own large
patent portfolio, has resisted Microsoft's patent demands and is
fighting several court battles with the company in the US and Europe.
"We are pleased that the list of companies benefiting from
Microsoft's Android licensing program now includes the world's
largest contract manufacturer, Hon Hai," said Microsoft executive
Horacio Gutierrez, referring to the official name of Foxconn.
"By licensing both brand name companies and their contract
manufacturers, we have successfully increased the overall
effectiveness and global reach of the program."
