Microsoft demanding patent royalties for B&N Nook, B&N thinks they should get Android for free

April 27, 2011 | By Surur

Microsoft has been doing it damndest to make sure OEMs know that the free Android OS is not free at all, and Barnes & Noble is complaining.

The company, who is currently being sued by Microsoft is complaining that Microsoft demanded royalties for 6 patents, which according to B&N Microsoft said was “sufficient to dominate and entirely preclude the use of the Android Operating System by the Nook”.

According to B&N Microsoft demanded royalties in excess of the rumoured cost of Windows Phone 7, especially for the Nook Color, a number B&N called “exorbitant”.

In a statement Microsoft said:

“Our lawsuits against Barnes & Noble, Foxconn and Inventec [the Nook's manufacturers] are founded upon their actions, and the issue is their infringement of our intellectual property rights. In seeking to protect our intellectual property, we are doing what any other company in our situation would do.”

Android is of course not developed by B&N, but since Google, who developers it, does not stand behind the OS and exposes its OEMs to litigation risk, those same OEMs are finding that in the end they still end up paying for the supposed free software, even if only in legal fees.

About Surur

Site Admin and Windows Phone enthusiast, he has been using Windows Mobile devices since before they were called PocketPC’s. He is currently sporting a HTC 7 Trophy.

Tagged microsoft, patents

ojojoj

android is not free. android has a patent fee. every single android OEM recieves a call from microsoft asking for patent fees. they either pay (htc, acer, asus) or they refuse to pay and get sued (motorola, possibly b&n)

either way, they will be spending lots of money to use android. microsoft gets paid $40 per android unit by htc.

zzz

$40? Hard to believe it's that high. Can you provide a link?

Ross Huey

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives…

Ask and you shall receive, or you can take 5 minutes and do some research.

zzz

" It is estimated HTC is paying $40-$80 per Android phone to Microsoft…"

whoa

http://www.facebook.com/wixostrix Edwin Michael Rodriguez-Duplesis

Wow! Really? $40 per device? That's outrageous. I believe its costs OEM's $15 per license for WP7. B&N needs to just suck it up and pay the fees. Microsoft isn't doing anything wrong. Like they said, any other company would be doing the save thing, and they are mind you. Microsoft isn't breaking any laws so until there is a restructuring of the patent system, everyone just needs to deal with the consequences.
Robbie

hahahaha, 40$, very funny

Joseph Heath Wallis

Hilarious. When will they listen? Android is nothing but trouble
Murani

Google isn't in the software business so they aren't going to use any of their resources to defend OEMs because they don't consider them as partners. This is a huge distinction that needs to be relayed more. I don't think most people realize how astronomical legal fees tend to get when dealing with large corporations.

Alan Strangis

It's not so much that they don't consider them partners, it's that Google doesn't offer legal indemnification for users of their operating system (OEMs). By not offering such protection (and not making their own hardware), the only legal recourse for MS to pursue IS the manufacturers.

I don't know who's side I take in this particular case, because the alleged infringing patents haven't been reported on and patent law in the US is overly aggressive. At this point though MS is basically BOUND by shareholder law to protect patents.

chinch

Is there any doubt B&N will follow Borders into bankruptcy. They need a complete retail reboot and quickly get up to speed about infringement and IP.

This is comedy gold…

“Microsoft did not invent, research, develop, or make available to the public mobile devices employing the Android Operating System and other open source operating systems, but nevertheless seeks to dominate something it did not invent,” B&N’s complaint says.
David

Companies like B&N and Motorola has to pay for those patents like other OEMs. And they can’t just make money from other companies technology without paying for them.

B&N a company that had sell books (over price), magazine, chocolate, and coffee now thinks they know about mobile, technology, and etc. Their statement is so stupid that I can’t even laugh at it.

Android is not free and every single company that used it should know it by now. Plus Android don’t have good software support. The number of versions that is out there is so many and each has their own many bugs. It’s a complete mess.

Perhaps B&N thought technology and patents in technology world is like book writers and readers that they can easily screw them and make the most money from both ends without paying that much to them.
But B&N I am sorry this time it is not like that and you have to pay for it. Android is not free!
tjarren

Heehee.
http://bit.ly/fG7WQ4
R5A

Do MSFT have patent on some coding in the android os? did not know that. Not sarcastic!