Microsoft sues Samsung over late royalty payment
MICROSOFT IS SUING SAMSUNG for 'breach of contract', claiming the Korean firm refused to pay interest after making a late royalty payment on patent licences.
Microsoft's complaint filed in US federal court in New York alleges that Samsung made a late payment towards the US firm's patented technology used in its Android devices when Microsoft announced it would buy Nokia's handset business last September.
Under the deal struck in 2011, Samsung pays Microsoft an undisclosed amount for each Android phone and tablet it sells. A Microsoft spokesperson told The INQUIRER that Samsung is threatening to breach the agreement again.
Microsoft deputy counsel David Howard said in a blog post, 'After becoming the leading player in the worldwide smartphone market, Samsung decided late last year to stop complying with its agreement with Microsoft.'
Microsoft said Samsung is not adhering to the 2011 contract, and said it has filed the court action after months of 'painstaking negotiation'.
The Redmond firm said Samsung thinks the contract between the two companies is void since Microsoft now has its own handset business following the Nokia acquisition.
'In September 2013, after Microsoft announced it was acquiring the Nokia Devices and Services business, Samsung began using the acquisition as an excuse to breach its contract,' continued the Microsoft statement. 'Curiously, Samsung did not ask the court to decide whether the Nokia acquisition invalidated its contract with Microsoft, likely because it knew its position was meritless.'
Microsoft is confident that the court will settle the technology giants' disagreement in its favour.
'We are simply asking the court to settle our disagreement, and we are confident the contract will be enforced,' Microsoft's post concluded.
A Samsung spokesperson responded, 'We will review the complaint in detail and determine appropriate measures in response.' µ
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