Patents are power! Microsoft owns a number of important Android and Chrome OS licenses, and the software titan has been busy making patent deals with many hardware companies over the years.
Specifically, hardware vendors that sell devices that are powered by Google’s Android operating system.
The newest in this list is ZTE Corporation, as Redmond seems to have made a deal with the large Chinese vendor. The official press release from Microsoft is still incoming, but CNET has the lowdown that the patent deal between both companies cover both Android and Chrome OS patents.
Specifics are not announced, but as is usually the case with companies that license its patents, Microsoft will receive a percentage from ZTE for every product it sells with Android and Chrome.
Microsoft, as you may recall, signed a similar high-profile deal with Hon Hai — the parent company of Foxconn — last week covering these aforementioned patents.
ZTE has actually partnered with Microsoft to develop Windows Phone devices like the ZTE Render. The Chinese company also makes a Windows 8 tablet, the ZTE V98 that was announced last year, and released in 2013.
The software titan maintains that 80 percent of Android smartphones sold in the United States are now covered by agreements with the company, along with majority of Android devices that are sold worldwide.
Two big guns still remain outside of Microsoft’s Android patent loop however — Huawei and Motorola.
