hinted that the Samsung Android patent royalties lawsuit was heading towards an amicable settlement, it appears that the reality is somewhat different — the company is less than willing to pay the money it owns to Redmond. And the reason for this is, according to Reuters, is that Samsung believes the Nokia takeover that Microsoft completed earlier this year violates the deal between the two companies. According to the lawsuit Microsoft filed against Samsung, the South Korean company has to pay $6.9 million in interest as part of the $1 billion patent royalty deal for a number of Android technologies it borrowed for its devices. Court filings reveal that Samsung and Microsoft signed a deal in 2011 that allows the Korean giant to use Android technologies in its phones while paying Microsoft an unspecified amount of money in return. It was as part of that deal that Samsung started developing Windows Phone handsets, even sharing what is being called “confidential business information” with Microsoft. That’s interesting! Microsoft, in turn, agreed to reduce the royalty payments if Samsung met certain sales goals for its Windows devices, the court documents state. Obviously, things changed after Microsoft took over the Nokia devices and services unit, which Samsung believes makes Redmond a competitor in the same business, thereby violating the deal signed in 2011. The case is ongoing, as of right now, with Microsoft confident of victory, but we’ll have to see how this one goes. Could be interesting either way.]]>
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