From the high stake patent battles between electronic giants lately, one thing is certain – these companies are not in for a healthy competitive market. Software giant Microsoft seems to have taken a lesson from these battles. The recent proof of this is a patent deal with ZTE announced on Tuesday.
The ZTE patent deal isn’t the first of its kind for Microsoft in recent times. The software giant is out to make patent deals with every major Android and Chrome device makers. Last week Microsoft announced a similar deal with Foxconn’s parent company Hon Hai.
Under the patent deal, ZTE will be availing Microsoft’s worldwide patent portfolio for phones, tablets, computers and other devices. However, the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Microsoft Vice President and General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez explained, “Much of the current litigation in the so-called ‘smartphone patent wars’ could be avoided if companies were willing to recognize the value of others’ creations in a way that is fair.” He also added, “At Microsoft, experience has taught us that respect for intellectual-property rights is a two-way street, and we have always been prepared to respect the rights of others just as we seek respect for our rights.”
Although Microsoft has accused Google of infringing the former’s patents in Android and Chrome, it hasn’t filed any lawsuit against the latter. Instead, Microsoft has inked patent deals with Android and Chrome vendors.
Source: CNET
[ttjad keyword=”android-device”]
