Microsoft this morning announced it has reached licensing agreements with Acer and Viewsonic over the companies' Android devices. Terms of either agreement were not announced, but Viewsonic will pay royalties to Microsoft. No royalties were mentioned in Acer's deal, which could point to some sort of reciprocal licensing.
Microsoft VP of IP and general counsel Horacio Gutierrez issued the following statement in both press releases:
“We are pleased that [Acer/Viewsonic] is taking advantage of our industrywide licensing program established to help companies address Android’s IP issues,” said Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing at Microsoft. “This agreement is an example of how industry leaders can reach commercially reasonable arrangements that address intellectual property.”
This is just the latest in licensing for Microsoft, which already has reached a deal with HTC, while suing Barnes & Noble and others. Meanwhile, we haven't heard much from Microsoft and Google lately in their patent-lawsuit back-and-forth. Perhaps we're due?
Source: Microsoft (Acer, Viewsonic)
