Microsoft Sues Windows Phone Partner for Using Its Android Patents Reuters

Microsoft has recently filed a lawsuit against smartphone manufacturer and Windows Phone device maker Kyocera, after the Redmond-based company found out that it was using some of its Android patents without authorization.

Reuters writes that the lawsuit, which was filed at the US District Court, states that Kyocera infringed a total of seven patents that Microsoft holds, including those protecting the use of location services and text messaging.

Microsoft has also requested the judge to ban Kyocera's devices in the United States until a deal is reached, explaining that all smartphones that are currently on sale across the country are violating its patents and generate revenues without paying for royalties.

The software giant, however, explained that it's still hoping to “resolve the case amicably,” adding that it only wants Kyocera to license the technology they are using on their Android phones.
Kyocera planned to release Windows Phone devices

Surprisingly, Kyocera was one of the companies that actually planned to join the Windows Phone club and release a device powered by Microsoft's mobile platform.

The company showcased at the MWC 2015 in Barcelona a prototype of a Windows Phone-powered device, suggesting that it could very soon start selling it across the world. The showcased concept was a Windows Phone version of the Torque model, which is actually running Android and comes with a 4-inch display, a dual-core 1.2 GHz Krait CPU, 1 GB of RAM and a 5-megapixel camera.

Hardware was said to be identical on the showcased device, but it was powered by Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2, a new version of the OS that's available on new Microsoft models.

As far as the lawsuit is concerned, Microsoft has not offered too many details on this, but it's pretty much the typical procedure that Redmond starts whenever it finds out that someone uses its Android technologies without authorization.

In most of the cases, the companies settle the dispute and sign a patent deal, but the legal action might actually put Kyocera's plans to release a Windows Phone device on hold. For ever.