MICROSOFT Corp. said in a patent lawsuit against Samsung Electronics Co. that the South Korean smartphone maker paid it as much as $1 billion in royalties last year under a now-disputed 2011 licensing agreement.
The payment was disclosed for the first time in a court filing in Microsoft’s complaint alleging Samsung breached an agreement to share patents.
The seven-year accord requires Samsung to pay Microsoft royalties for phones and tablets that use the software maker’s patented technology, according to the filing on Friday in Manhattan federal court.
Samsung has refused to pay $6.9 million in interest owed under the agreement, according to the filing.
“Samsung has suggested that Microsoft has breached the business collaboration agreement,” David Howard, Microsoft’s deputy general counsel, said today in a blog post. “We disagree, and that’s why we asked the court to rule that Microsoft is not in breach.”
Microsoft claims Samsung is using Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia Oyj’s phone business as an excuse to stop complying with the contract. The license agreement contains explicit provisions that grant a patent license to both companies’ subsidiaries, including Nokia, Microsoft said in the complaint.
The acquisition doesn’t breach a provision of the agreement that the two companies collaborate, the company said in the filing.
Google’s Android
MOST Samsung mobile devices use Google Inc.’s Android operating system.
Adam Yates, a Samsung spokesman, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail message after regular business hours seeking comment on the filing.
Microsoft pays Samsung an annual, preset royalty to use Samsung’s patents, which is credited against royalties Samsung owes Microsoft each year, according to the filing.
Microsoft is seeking payment of the $6.9 million and a declaration by the court that its addition of the Nokia phone business doesn’t affect the 2011 agreement with Samsung.