Apple has offered Android advocates Samsung and Motorola patent licensing deals to help prevent future litigation.
Steve Jobs didn’t like Android. In his biography he bluntly told Walter Isaacson he’s prepared to declare “thermonuclear” war on Android because, he believed, Android was “a stolen product”. I imagine Apple’s decision to license some patents to Android advocates Samsung and Motorola would not bode well with him then.
Sources who confided in Dow Jones Newswires are claiming Apple extended an olive branch to the aforementioned manufacturers in a bid to settle some pending litigation, which at present is happening right around the globe.
Apple’s conditions are fierce, with the company expecting $15 for every Android phone sold by Samsung and Motorola, “among other terms.” Unlike Microsoft, this offer isn’t available to all ‘droid manufacturers as the company has no intention on relying on royalty revenue.
Pre Samsung-Apple litigation, the two companies tried to strike a royalty deal. Their attempts proved futile and resulted in court cases in the US, Germany, Australia, the UK and Japan.
In fact Apple scarcely licenses its technologies, opting to keep their developments in-house so they can develop products with a competitive edge.
Microsoft currently licences patents to 70% of Android manufacturers at $10 a pop, with the company choosing to profit from its rival’s efforts.
