HTC to Pay Microsoft Royalties on Android Phones
Yes, you read that right. HTC, the biggest and baddest manufacturer of Android handsets, has come to an agreement to make royalty payments to Bill & Company for all HTC Android-based smartphones.
How and why this came about is unclear. The press release that Microsoft issued late last night simply refers to a patent agreement that "provides broad coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio." It goes on to explain that based on that, Microsoft will receive royalty payments from HTC.
CNET is reporting that the agreement covers patents to the user interface and the operating system itself, but that this is Microsoft's first licensing deal with Android.
It's probably a good idea that HTC ink this now, especially considering the Apple lawsuit claiming patent infringement. Since the details of the MS agreement have yet to surface though, there's no way to tell if any of the supposed infringements overlap. But they probably do: Jobs does have a way of claiming he invented everything cool.
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