Rumor Mill: Microsoft wants Samsung to pay $15 for every Android phone it sells

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) wants Samsung to pay up to $15 for every phone it sells running Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platform, according to a report in South Korean media. 

The Maeil Business Newspaper report, citing unnamed industry officials, said Microsoft wants the payment because it owns a wide range of patents that are used in Android. The report said Samsung will probably try to reduce the payment to $10 per phone in exchange for a stronger commitment from Samsung to Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 smartphone platform.

According to Reuters, analysts expect Samsung to have sold around 19 million smartphones in the second quarter, with the majority of them using the Android platform. Samsung said this week it shipped 3 million units of its Android-powered Galaxy S II smartphone in 55 days.

Representatives from Microsoft and Samsung did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Samsung report comes on the heels of a similar report about Microsoft and HTC. HTC pays Microsoft $5 for every phone it sells that uses the Android platform, according to a research note from a Citi analyst in late May. The note, authored by Citi analyst Walter Pritchard, said the fee is a result of the patent licensing deal HTC signed with Microsoft in April 2010. The research note also said Microsoft is looking to receive between $7.50 and $12.50 per device from other Android handset makers.

HTC and Microsoft declined to comment on the terms of their deal, but many expected Microsoft to pressure other Android licensees to strike similar arrangements. "We have also consistently taken a proactive approach to licensing to resolve IP infringement by other companies and have been talking with several device manufacturers to address our concerns relative to the Android mobile platform," Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's deputy general counsel, told CNet when the deal with HTC was announced.

For more:
- see this Reuters article
- see this Maeil Business Newspaper article (translated via Google Translate)

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