Microsoft's Hottest New Profit Center: Android

[jbrodkin]

One of Microsoft's hottest new profit centers is a smartphone platform you've definitely heard of: Android. Google's Linux-based mobile operating system is a favorite target for Microsoft's patent attorneys, who are suing numerous Android vendors and just today announced that another manufacturer has agreed to write checks to Microsoft every time it ships an Android device. Vendors paying off Microsoft for the right to use Android now include HTC, Velocity Micro, General Dynamics, Onkyo Corp. and Wistron. Microsoft likely makes more money from Android than its own Windows phone platform, and its latest patent agreement announced Tuesday indicates Microsoft is also going after Google's Linux-based Chromebooks.

[oldstrangers]

"We are pleased that Wistron is taking advantage of our industrywide licensing program, established to help companies address Android's IP issues," Microsoft general counsel Horacio Gutierrez said in a press release.

That is the most infuriatingly worded press release ever. Might as well just say that you're very pleased Wistron agreed to let you bend them over the counter to address Microsoft's inability to compete issue.

[cageface]

The smugness just oozes through the page. These kinds of chickenshit tactics are the desperate moves of a stagnant company. The happiest development of my career has been watching the industry emerge from under the shadow of the software mafiosos at Redmond. If the U.S. patent system isn't reformed soon the baton of innovation will pass to other countries that don't enable these extortion schemes.

[1010011010]

"established to help companies address Android's IP issues" ... haha

[Corrado]

What specifically are the IP issues that Android has? I looked in the article but there was only a passing mention of some claims in a link. A couple of the claims looked like they were about long and short filenames. If that's true then software patents are truly evil and should be abolished yesterday. :/

[qeorge]

MS maintains that Linux kernel violates its patents, and sues anyone who makes enough money with a product using Linux (e.g., TomTom [1]).

MS likes to refer to "235 patents" that Linux allegedly violates, but they aren't forthcoming with what the specific violations are. That said, they do have some fairly ridiculous patents under their belts, (like the FAT filesystem [2]), so they could probably dredge something up.

With Android more specifically, there is also ActiveSync (Exchange's protocol).

[1] http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2009/02/QA_Microsofts_chief...

[2] http://news.cnet.com/Microsofts-file-system-patent-upheld/21...

[jrockway]

This is America's new legal strategy: beating up the small guys with big sticks. Companies with patents go after small companies or individual developers with their patents -- IBM never gets sued for patent infringement. Companies with copyrights go after as many little guys as possible, and make their money "in volume" because file-sharing lawsuits are cheaper to settle than to contest.

This is not "promoting the progress of the arts"; it's bullies shaking us all down, with the government happily watching.

[pyre]

B-B-But I thought that Microsoft was only acquiring patents to protect itself from evil other companies that would have patented these things and then sued Microsoft! They were supposed to be defensive patents... </sarcasm>

[melling]

No, I'm pretty sure Microsoft has been "evil" for a long time. We're talking 25+ years of non-stop "evil". :-) They destroyed Borland, WordPerfect, Lotus, Netscape, etc. They forced every PC maker to pay for Windows even if they didn't ship Windows on the hardware. They bought the Sybase source and made a cheaper SQL Server product, that essentially killed Sybase. They still have 90% of the desktop OS market, and their "Open Document Format", really isn't that open. Web browser innovation took almost a decade to recover, once they destroyed Netscape, and people still feel the need to support the very non-standard IE6. Recently they bought Nokia, essentially killing more choice in smartphones. Ok, get the idea? Great American capitalists that destroy all competition. :-)

Anyway, even if Microsoft makes money from Android, having Android creates more choice. That's really what consumers need because it reduces costs and spurs innovation.

[tzs]

> They destroyed Borland, WordPerfect, Lotus, Netscape, etc.

For at least 3 of those, Microsoft destroyed them by making a better product. I wish more companies would be evil like that.

[1010011010]

I'd like to see a citation of Microsoft saying their patents were going to be used only defensively.

I think it's _completely_ in their nature to block and bleed competitors.

[kenjackson]

Quite the opposite in fact. MS has been rather blunt that they haven't been pleased with Linux's use of what they believed was patented technology and that they'd take action. IMO, the real question is what took them so long, since the first threats were made years ago.

With that said MS has never threatened anything beyond Linux, at least that I can recall. Linux appears to have a special place in their heart.

[yuhong]

One of the most famous examples of this is Amazon (search for "amazon patents" on Slashdot), but of course there are other examples too like Sun/Oracle.

[joshma]

Is there any reason why Microsoft isn't going after Google? I recall reading somewhere that it's because Google isn't actually producing the phone. Can anyone confirm this, or is just cowardice?

[zeddez]

There is a difference between direct and indirect patent infringement. Google provides the Android source, but the companies that are being sued are directly infringing by selling and distributing products based on these patents. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_infringement_under_Unite...

Google naturally has the choice to indemnify Android distributors and protect them from patent infringement. Google chooses not to do this, presumably because they do not want to expose themselves to the costs of direct patent infringement.

[gillygize]

Does the Nexus One or Nexus S blur this line at all? In that case, it seems like Google is doing more than simply making the source code available. Those phones actually carry its brand.

[kenjackson]

Microsoft has a deal with Samsung already in place. See: http://news.cnet.com/Microsoft%2C-Samsung-in-patent-swap-dea...

the software maker specifically notes that the deal will allow Samsung to offer products using Linux without concern that Microsoft will sue it or its customers.

And another deal with HTC. http://www.androidguys.com/2010/04/28/htc-pay-microsoft-roya...

So both of those phones are covered.

[erikb]

Interesting news. But has a page 2. So, I can't read the story to the end, nor give you the actually earned upvote. Really sorry, Jon.

[zacgarrett]

Like a lot of sites there is the print button which includes the entire article.

http://www.networkworld.com/cgi-bin/mailto/x.cgi?pagetosend=...

[erikb]

It's a really nice trick. I keep that in mind. But beside that, is anything wrong as a person who often reads a lot of articles to ask for articles beein shown in a way that is more easily readable?