Microsoft has filed legal action against Samsung over a contract dispute, which both companies agreed to back in 2011. Microsoft filed the lawsuit against Samsung earlier today in the US District Court, Southern District of New York.
“We don’t take lightly filing a legal action, especially against a company with which we’ve enjoyed a long and productive partnership. Unfortunately, even partners sometimes disagree. After spending months trying to resolve our disagreement, Samsung has made clear in a series of letters and discussions that we have a fundamental disagreement as to the meaning of our contract,” Microsoft stated.
Back in 2011, Samsung voluntarily entered into a legally binding contract with Microsoft in a cross-licensing IP agreement involving Android patents. This ultimately benefited both parties — mostly Microsoft since it involved money. Samsung was complying with the agreement and was paying Microsoft to use certain patents.
Now that Samsung has grown over the past few years with smartphone sales having quadrupled, the company has decided not to honor the original agreement with Microsoft. The issue becomes even more dramatic as the Nokia Devices and Services acquisition comes into the mix.
Samsung is using the Microsoft acquisition of the Nokia Devices and Services business as an excuse not to pay Microsoft. No details were given as to why or how the acquisition affects Samsung, but the phone maker never took it to court to decide if the acquisition would legally invalidate its contract with Microsoft.
“Microsoft and Samsung have a long history of collaboration. Microsoft values and respects our partnership with Samsung and expects it to continue. We are simply asking the Court to settle our disagreement, and we are confident the contract will be enforced,” Microsoft stated.
Samsung has yet to issue a response and we will update this story as soon as we find out more details on the matter. In the mean time, sit back, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the fight! You can read the complaint here.
