REDMOND, Wash. (Legal Newsline) -- A week after signing a patent agreement with Voxx Electronics Corp., Microsoft Corp. has inked a similar deal with cell phone maker Hop-on Inc.
The companies announced in a joint statement Wednesday they have signed a worldwide patent licensing agreement.
The agreement provides "broad coverage" under Microsoft's patent portfolio for devices running the Android and Chrome operating systems, including smartphones and tablets.
While the contents of the deal are confidential, the companies said Microsoft will receive royalties from Hop-on under the agreement.
"We are pleased that the list of companies benefitting from Microsoft's Android licensing program now includes a U.S.-based manufacturer of affordable cellular technologies," said Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of the Innovation and Intellectual Property Group at Microsoft.
"Licensing is an effective way to share technology and build on each other's work to provide valued products to consumers."
Such agreements also help avoid costly litigation.
"The agreement with Microsoft represents our respect for intellectual property rights, and enables us to continue to provide cost friendly and technologically advanced devices to consumers," Hop-on CEO Peter Michaels said.
Based in the United States, Hop-on is known for developing the first disposable cell phone.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at patents@legalnewsline.com.
Microsoft, cell phone maker sign patent agreement
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