Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Samsung and Microsoft Settle Dispute Over Android Patent Payments

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though a 2011 agreement has Samsung paying Microsoft for every Android phone it sells.

Shutterstock

Samsung and Microsoft announced Monday that they have resolved a dispute over a contract that includes patent royalties for Android phones.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Samsung and Microsoft are pleased to announce that they have ended their contract dispute,” both companies said in a statement.

Microsoft had sued Samsung last August, saying that the company was late in paying some of its contractual obligations. In the suit, Microsoft asked the court to declare its contract valid and enforceable and to declare that Samsung owes Microsoft interest for any late payments.

The two companies reached a huge patent deal back in 2011 that has Samsung paying Redmond for each Android device it sells.

At the time of the suit last year, Microsoft deputy general counsel David Howard wrote that “after spending months trying to resolve our disagreement, Samsung has made clear in a series of letters and discussions that we have a fundamental disagreement as to the meaning of our contract.”

Evidently the two sides are now seeing eye to eye, or at least reached a deal they can both live with.

Here’s a copy of Microsoft’s original suit, though many of the good parts are redacted.

Redacted (Public) Complaint by elizabethrecodenet

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh