Xbox 360 ban: Microsoft rejects Motorola settlement

[Alby_da_Wolf]

Adinnieken said:

Alby_da_Wolf said:

kanageddaamen said:

Alby_da_Wolf said:
Motorola is accused of being greedy for how much it asks from MS. How much does MS ask from Android phones producers?

The only thing I could find is HTC supposedly pays them $5 in licensing fees per phone.

I read it asked Samsung up to $15 per phone, but I don't know how much they did settle on. So it looks like MS too asks for quite consiistent sums, if every patent holder asked for similar amounts, a smartphone should cost thousands dollars just to pay royalties. And this is where the system is totally fucked up, smaller companies with little bargaining power can be crushed and put out of business through patent lawsuits.

There are a few differences.  Microsoft's patents are not standards.  The contentious patents in Motorola's case are standards and are meant to be licensed under FRAND terms.  Microsoft has been licensing 50+ patents per unit, it's a patents package.  Motorola is talking about 2 patents, which should have been licensed under FRAND terms.  Microsoft's fee is a flat rate per device, regardless of the cost increase in the phone for any other reasons.  Motorola is levying a flat rate fee for use of the H.264 patent in Windows (50¢), but is licensing the Wi-Fi and H.264 patent on the Xbox 360 at 2.25% of the retail cost (currently $4.50 - $9.00 per unit) despite the fact that the function or importance of neither patent increases.   

You can assume, based on damages awarded in the HTC case that the cost for licensing the package is $5.00, however damages included lawyers fees and court costs, so the actual cost is likely a lot lower than $5.00.  Microsoft doesn't charge $15 to license 50+ patents.  It charges $15 to license Windows Phone 7.  If they charged $15 to license the patent portfolio to Android OEMs, then there would be a huge uproar if not a major legal battle because it would be the same exact price for Windows Phone 7.  It would be both price gauging and unfair and no court would permit it. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=android+microsoft+samsung

Most of the news this search finds report MS asking Samsung for $15 for patents in Android phones, not for Win Phone.