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Microsoft and Samsung end Android royalties dispute

Microsoft and Samsung end Android royalties dispute

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Microsoft took Samsung to court back in August, seeking to enforce a contract with Samsung over Android royalty payments. Samsung has been paying out per-device royalties to Microsoft for every Android product it sells, and a court case revealed Microsoft has earned $1 billion from Samsung in the form of patent-licensing royalties during 2013.

Samsung originally signed two contracts — a cross-licensing agreement and a business collaboration agreement — with Microsoft in 2011, ahead of its dominance of Android shipments. Samsung has, understandably, been looking to avoid paying huge Android royalties to Microsoft, and the Korean company decided Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s phone business was a good excuse to try and invalidate the contract.

A confidential agreement between two giants

It’s not clear what type of deal the pair have agreed upon, but both companies say they have ended their dispute today. "Samsung and Microsoft are pleased to announce that they have ended their contract dispute in U.S. court as well as the ICC arbitration," reads a joint statement from Microsoft and Samsung’s legal teams. Both companies are keeping the terms of the agreement confidential, meaning we might never learn how much Samsung will continue to pay Microsoft for Android royalties.