#25: Foxconn Android patent license agreement with Microsoft
Microsoft has finally convinced Foxconn's parent company Hon Hai to agree to its Android licensing deal, joining the already sizable list of original device manufacturers that produce Android devices that have already signed on the dotted line.
Like previous agreements Microsoft has struck with Hon Hai's rivals, details of the worldwide patent licensing agreement were not disclosed. However, Microsoft said that it will receive royalties from Hon Hai.
The patent agreement between Microsoft and Hon Hai involve smartphones, tablets and televisions powered by Google's two operating systems. Hon Hai also holds more than 54,000 patents worldwide.
Hon Hai joins companies like Nikon, Acer, Viewsonic, and Samsung, who will pay Microsoft an undisclosed amount of royalties just to use patented technology, in order to avoid litigation from Microsoft.
This is the same tactic we've seen time and again from Microsoft. Failing to succeed in the smartphone market, they are resorting to legal measures to extort profit from others' achievements and hinder the pace of innovation.
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