Last month, Neowin covered a story in which Microsoft earns $5 for every HTC Android that is sold worldwide. However Microsoft have recently signed a patent deal with rugged computer manufacturer Itronix, over the patents that it uses. This ultimately means that for every Itronix computer that's sold, Microsoft will be paid a certain amount of money in return, which will most likely match what it arranged with HTC earlier this year.
Those in Redmond won't be seeing the same income as it agreed with the lucrative HTC deal, however it will bolster the company's revenue and reputation, as Apple struggles to keep a hold of their market share from competition. Horacio Gutierrez from Microsoft's IP and Licensing department said that "we are pleased to have reached this agreement with General Dynamics Itronix, which is an example of how industry leaders address intellectual property".
Microsoft have been chasing up on certain companies recently due to the software giant's desire to protect its patents, which it feels are being breached by some Android manufacturers. Microsoft has shown a history in the past of seeking alternatives to a lawsuit regarding a patent breach, so this fits in with the company's usual strategy.
Creating a deal in which you are able to charge another company for using a registered patent isn't necessarily a bad idea. According to VentureBeat, they have speculated that Microsoft could have gained $150 million from the HTC licensing deal as of May, which was five times more than what revenue the company was gaining from Windows Phone. It would be no surprise if Microsoft spent the money it was gaining from Android on bettering the Windows Phone platform.
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