Huawei in negotiations with Microsoft over patent license fees

Huawei launched its new Android smartphone and 7’’ tablet in the UK on Monday with a view to capture developing mid-level markets made up of socially active youngsters. The company proposes to launch a variety of smartphones and tablets in the coming years, as it makes a name for itself against competitors.

Since Microsoft owns a number of patents that are used in the Android operating systems, it collects license fees from all Android vendors. The rise of Huawei as a maker of Android smartphones has attracted negations from Microsoft about similar fees. 

Huawei’s device CMO Victor Xu told the Guardian, “Microsoft has come to us.” He added that negotiations were in progress but refused to revels any further details. He said, “We always respect the intellectual property of companies. But we have 65,000 patents worldwide too. We have enough to protect our interests. We are a very important stakeholder in Android.” 

Microsoft earns over 400 million Dollars a year from licensing its patents to Android vendors worldwide including Samsung and HTC. Of course the company sees this as a fair bargain, given that it was the master innovator of it’s time. 

Microsoft will probably earn big bucks from Huawei too, considering the latter’s goals for the future. Said Xu, “Over the next three years we are aiming to be in the top five smartphone makers, and in the top 3 in the next 5 years. We have established very aggressive targets in the market.”

If Huawei and Microsoft are able to work out a good deal over the patents issue, the act might secure a profitable long term business relationship between the two. Keeping in mind Microsoft’s deals with vendors like Samsung, Huawei could well be next in line to partner with the software giant in its next big invention.