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Microsoft royalty demands for Android and other non-Microsoft software

Since their 2006 deal with Novell, Microsoft has been demanding that software distributors pay for permission to use unspecified patents. When Microsoft announces these deals, the press releases usually mention free software or GNU/Linux, seemingly in an attempt to create uncertainty around their competitor. Microsoft's activity is characterised by some as patent trolling (although they wouldn't fit the narrower term of non-practising entity).

By July 2012, Microsoft were already claiming that 70% of the sales of Android devices include royalty payments to Microsoft.[1]

It is worth noting that users of Microsoft software are also paying patent tax.[2] These costs get passed on to the users.

List of companies paying

Racketeering

Mark Shuttleworth of Canonical Group has characterised this activity as racketeering:

Microsoft is asking people to pay them for patents, but they won’t say which ones. If a guy walks into a shop and says: “It’s an unsafe neighbourhood, why don’t you pay me 20 bucks and I’ll make sure you’re okay,” that’s illegal. It’s racketeering.[16]

Reasons why companies sign

This is maybe best explained with an excerpt from a story from Forbes magazine. When Sun told IBM that their claims of patent infringement were unfounded, IBM replied:

maybe you don't infringe these seven patents. But we have 10,000 U.S. patents. Do you really want us to go back to Armonk [IBM headquarters in New York] and find seven patents you do infringe? Or do you want to make this easy and just pay us $20 million?"

IBM got their money. (source Forbes: Patently Absurd)

Related pages on ESP Wiki

External links

References

  1. ↑ Microsoft claims collecting royalties on 70% of all Android devices, Slashgear
  2. ↑ http://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2007/patent-tax.html
  3. ↑ http://blog.internetnews.com/skerner/2009/07/microsoft-signs-linux-patent-d.html - http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/linux/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218500894&subSection=News - http://boycottnovell.com/2009/08/03/microsoft-extorted-melco/
  4. ↑ http://news.cnet.com/2100-1014_3-6169454.html
  5. ↑ http://news.cnet.com/2100-1014_3-6177381.html
  6. ↑ http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS9611526832.html - http://stephesblog.blogs.com/my_weblog/2007/06/microsoft_messa.html - http://boycottnovell.com/2009/06/15/xandros-patent-protection-sale/ - http://www.itwire.com/content/view/25661/1231/
  7. ↑ http://blogs.siliconvalley.com/gmsv/2007/06/another_firm_bows_to_microsofts_patent_threat.html
  8. ↑ http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/30/1853219
  9. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20100103123725/http://linux-watch.com/news/NS6121484436.html
  10. ↑ BROKEN LINK, working copy in Google cache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:dOa4j5g0dXYJ:www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2010/apr10/04-27mshtcpr.mspx
  11. ↑ http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2010/apr10/04-27MSHTCPR.mspx
  12. ↑ http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2363175,00.asp
  13. ↑ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/05/microsoft-gets-5-from-htc-for-every-android-phone.html
  14. ↑ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/27/microsoft_patent_android/
  15. ↑ http://informationweek.com/news/windows/microsoft_news/232400234
  16. ↑ http://mybroadband.co.za/nephp/6672.html
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