Microsoft and LG have announced today that they have entered into a patent license agreement covering LG’s Android and Chrome OS devices.
This agreement expands upon a previous agreement between the two companies, and is one of ten similar deals with other Android and Chrome OS device makers. Other licensees include HTS, Acer, and Samsung. With the inclusion of LG, Microsoft now has licensing agreements covering 70% of all Android-based phones sold in the United States.
While the terms and details of the agreement have not been disclosed, the deal presumably allows LG to use technologies covered by Microsoft’s patents in their Android and Chrome OS devices for a fee. Microsoft’s intellectual property licensing program was begun in 2003. Since then Microsoft has been party to over 1,100 agreements.
[Source: Microsoft Press Release]