Microsoft on Sunday announced an Android patent agreement with Taiwanese company Compal Electronics, a deal the software giant claims gives it a lock on a majority of Android devices.
"Together with the license agreements signed in the past few months with Wistron and Quanta Computer, today's agreement with Compal means more than half of the world's ODM industry for Android and Chrome devices is now under license to Microsoft's patent portfolio," Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft deputy general counsel, said in a statement.
The deal with Compal covers tablets, mobile phones, e-readers and other consumer devices running the Android or Chrome Platform, Microsoft said.
Microsoft signed a similar deal with Quanta Computer earlier this month and with Wistron in July. It also inked a deal with HTC in April 2010.
While patent deals with Taiwanese manufacturers might seem like a rather boring topic, it could have a significant impact on the mobile landscape in the years to come, and is quite lucrative for those on the right side of the conflict. Last month, a Goldman Sachs analyst said Microsoft could pull in $444 million in licensing fees this year from Android manufacturers alone.
Tech giants like Apple, Samsung, Motorola, Google, HTC, Microsoft, and more, meanwhile, are waging patent battles in courtrooms all over the world, and the outcome could impact the devices you're able to buy. In Samsung vs. Apple, for example, Apple has already been successful in getting the Android-based Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet temporarily banned from the German and Australian markets.
Furthermore, Google has been hard at work trying to boost its patent portfolio, purchasing Motorola Mobility in August in part for its treasure trove of at least 17,000 patents and to protect Android from legal challenges. Microsoft actually sued Motorola in October 2010 over its Android phones, and again the next month regarding Wi-Fi and video patents. Earlier this year, Google's David Drummond suggested that Microsoft, Oracle, Apple, and others are waging " a hostile, organized campaign against Android."
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In March, Microsoft also sued Barnes & Noble for patent infringement regarding the retailer's Android-based Nook e-readers.
Microsoft has not revealed the exact Android-related patents upon which its rivals are infringing, but patent blogger Florian Mueller posted a PDF that includes 21 examples of the patents asserted against Android.
"I believe [Microsoft owns] hundreds of patents relevant to Android. they use 25 different ones in court against Motorola and B&N," Mueller tweeted.
On Thursday, Mueller reported that the U.S. International Trade Commission has delayed its review of Microsoft's Motorola case because of a case backlog.