Microsoft gets $5 for every Android phone made by HTC, report says

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Microsoft Corp. receives $5 for every Android phone made by Taiwan-based HTC Corp., according to a Citigroup report on Microsoft.

The report released Friday said that Microsoft gets the money as part of a patent dispute settlement with HTC, which manufactures smartphones and tablets powered by Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows operating systems.

The Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant is also seeking to sue other Android phone makers, the report says, and is aiming for ‘a $7.50 to $12.50 per unit license to settle alleged infringement of Microsoft patents.’

Any settlements would bolster Microsoft’s claim that Android infringes its intellectual property and could potentially squeeze the margins for Android-backed gadgets, making tablets and smartphones running on Microsoft’s operating system more attractive, the report says.

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-- Shan Li