MS to pay 2.6 billion dollars for WP8 phones from Samsung Sony others

[sethnintendo]

pbroy said:

Callum_Alexander said:
Microsoft can throw as much money as they want at the phone companies, I still won't be buying a windows phone.

It doesn't matter what phone you buy. M$ will get money no matter what phone you buy.

Trying to look this up but why does Microsoft make money from licensing it Samsung, HTC, etc?  I thought Android was open sourced.  If Android infringed on a Microsoft patent wouldn't they just take Google to court? 

edit  - think I might have found part of the answer...

 

As George Kesarios, a financial analyst, explained in Seeking Alpha, the financial news and analysis site, "Android was developed using technology from many different companies. When patented technology is used in open-source projects, companies really don't go after them because usually they have little or no revenue. However, when an open-source project hits the jackpot, such as Google's Android, then the companies that control parts of the technology seek royalties, because these projects make money.

http://www.zdnet.com/apples-new-iphones-are-fine-but-microsoft-really-profits-from-smartphones-7000020502/