Wistron Signs Microsoft Patent Agreement For Android Gadgets

For most of the time that Android has been on the market people have thought of Android as free. Google doesn't charge for the OS so the thought was all the maker needed to do was get the hardware and sell the device. Microsoft started pointing out a few months back that Android isn't free, there are patent licensing fees that go along with it.

Naturally, Microsoft owns a number of those patents that need to be licensed. Some scoffed at the idea of licensing patents from Microsoft to build Android devices, until major firms started signing up. The last company to sign up for patent agreements was Onkyo. Microsoft also counts major players like HTC among its licensees as well. Microsoft announced today that another major company has licensed the patents it holds for Microsoft.

Wistron is the company that has now signed a license agreement. The agreement covers Wistron to build Android devices for smartphones, tablets, eReaders and other gadgets. The terms of the agreement are undisclosed at this time. Microsoft is certainly making a killing off these patents.

"We are pleased that Wistron is taking advantage of our industrywide licensing program, established to help companies address Android's IP issues," said Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing at Microsoft.

[via Android Community]