Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Microsoft Operandi: Linux-Centric Xiaomi Pays Post-Microsoft Entryism Nokia for Patents

Xiaomi patent settlement



Summary: The passage around of patents still enables Microsoft to drive up the price of Free/libre operating systems, which are also under attack from European authorities owing to Microsoft's heavy lobbying there

THE effective or de facto takeover by Microsoft has turned Nokia into little more than a patent troll (or feeder of patent trolls like MOSAID/Conversant), which often turns against companies that distribute Android/Linux, never companies that are Windows shops. This shouldn't be so shocking; we've predicted this for years.



"...so Nokia does to Xiaomi what Microsoft did to it and we view that as a form of blackmail."One year ago Microsoft basically settled with Xiaomi when Xiaomi agreed to buy (i.e. pay for) patents from Microsoft and now we see the same thing with Nokia, i.e. double-dipping. Much of the media (starting this morning) described this as a "patent deal", a "collaboration" or "cross-licence", but pay attention to the finer details. "Under the new business agreement, Xiaomi also acquired patent assets from Nokia," it says. Just like with Microsoft; so Nokia does to Xiaomi what Microsoft did to it and we view that as a form of blackmail.

"A lot of the media conveniently neglects to mention Microsoft's well-documented role in antitrust action against Android in Europe."Did Nokia pressure Xiaomi for this? A payment was made, akin to a settlement, not a cross-licence. In other words, Xiaomi paid Nokia. Like it did with Microsoft...

We have since seen this development covered in lots more sites; it's widely covered today in mainstream media and also patents-centric blogs/news sites.

"Nokia and Xiaomi ink patent and equipment deal, Xiaomi buys Nokia patents," says this headline, emphasising the part about purchase of patents. Much of the rest was almost as shallow as press releases.

"Don't underestimate the dirty patent tricks of Microsoft. The company still hates Linux and Android with a passion; it fights these hard using patents and using satellites which include Nokia and patent trolls it instructs Nokia to pass patents to."As we noted here back in May, Apple and Nokia settled their dispute too and we guess it means that Apple agreed to pay Nokia (again).

Don't lose sight of the fact that Nokia always goes after Microsoft competitors (same as Intellectual Ventures).

As for Apple, it is still going after Samsung, which was (at the time the lawsuits began) the dominant Android player/OEM. The latest on this was covered by Florian Müller the other day; he retweeted Matt Marcotte as saying: "Busy summer for Apple and Samsung then. The parties are now going to have to lobby the DoJ again. Groundhog day, sort of." In his personal blog he wrote:

As the docket overview now indicates, the Supreme Court of the United States has decided to ask for the views of the Solicitor General of the United States on Samsung's petition for writ of certiorari relating to the second California Apple v. Samsung case. To be precise, this CVSG (Call for Views of the Solicitor General) is a CVASG--currently there is an Acting Solicitor General, Jeffrey Wall.

This means the Supreme Court's summer recess will be a busy period for the parties--and other stakeholders--as they will both be lobbying the Department of Justice.

Just last week, a Reuters story had the following headline: "RPT-U.S. Supreme Court and top patent court rarely see eye to eye" It is true that the relationship between the Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit is, well, special. That Reuters article is about a rare case in which there was affirmance, but high-profile reversals, such as recently on patent exhaustion in the Lexmark case, are more common.

This is nice progress for Samsung. The likelihood of certiorari being granted has increased substantially.


If this case goes to SCOTUS, there will be a lot at stake for Android, which is reportedly (according to exclusive coverage from Reuters today) under antitrust attacks that Microsoft initiated against it, using all sorts of proxies several years ago. A lot of the media conveniently neglects to mention Microsoft's well-documented role in antitrust action against Android in Europe. Revisionism by omission? We wrote dozens of articles on the subject over the years. Evidence is abundant. Groklaw covered this too.

Don't underestimate the dirty patent tricks of Microsoft. The company still hates Linux and Android with a passion; it fights these hard using patents and using satellites which include Nokia and patent trolls it instructs Nokia to pass patents to.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Traf-O-Data, the Company That Jeffrey Epstein's BFF (Bill Gates) (Co)Founded 53 Years and Went Out of Business Due to Heavy Losses
Who will die first, Bill or Microsoft?
A Note on SimilarWeb
Or why SimilarWeb is meaningless for more than 99% of the sites on the Web
IBM Said to be Shutting Down Offices or Sites in the United States
the press can no longer avoid admitting that IBM moves many jobs to India
LLM Slop as Attack Vector on the Reputation of Linux
The attacks on Linux have escalated to information warfare
 
Techrights Has Dealt With More Potent SLAPPs Than Violent Microsofters Begging to Hide What They Did to Women
I became accustomed to SLAPPs
Links 04/04/2025: Fury in South Korea, Flight MH370 Remains Mystery
Links for the day
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Anger and Raspberry Pi CM4
Links for the day
Links 04/04/2025: LLM Slop Bubble Bursting and Korea Music Copyright Association Bans Slop 'Music'
Links for the day
Why Microsoft's Shares Sank Almost 20% in Recent Months (the Bubble is Imploding)
verified press reports from the past 24 hours
GNU/Linux Rises to Almost 5% in Algeria While Windows Sinks to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux grew tenfold
Where to Get More Gags
A valued reader recommended that to us
Links 04/04/2025: Tech Stock (Inc. GAFAM) Fall, Google Pretends to Do End-to-End Encrypted Emails (With Google in Control)
Links for the day
To Participate in Fedora Diversity You Must Use Proprietary Software
Not for the first time either
Yandex About to Be Three Times Bigger Than Microsoft (Bing) in Asia
That's about 60% of the world's population
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Decoupling Updates, Elaho as Gemini Client
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 03, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 03, 2025
Microsoft's Trouble in Africa and Asia
A new all-time high for GNU/Linux
Brett Wilson LLP Reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
The saddest thing in all this is that law firms can maintain high standards shall they wish to
Links 03/04/2025: Tariff Pains and C.D.C. Cuts
Links for the day
StatCounter: Microsoft is Masking a Disaster, It's Way Behind DeepSeek Already and Interest in LLMs Has Waned
it turns out the money "raised" for "Open" "AI" may not even exist at all
Links 03/04/2025: SoftBank Money for Microsoft "Open" "AI" Probably Doesn't Even Exist, Wikimedia Foundation Blasts LLM Nuisance While Microsoft Admits Demand Has Shrunk
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/04/2025: Patch Panel and Pictures
Links for the day
Islamic Republic of Iran: GNU/Linux at All-time High This Month, Windows Falls to 12%
Vista 10 is up this month despite being "end of life" (EoL) soon
Indonesia: All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux
What's noteworthy right now is the growth of GNU/Linux
statCounter Says GNU/Linux Usage is Up Again (Internationally)
some preliminary April data
Only on April 1st Can the Free Software Foundation Associate With Microsoft's Open Source Initiative (OSI)
We saw some pranks that day linking the FSF to Microsoft (e.g. "endorsing" Windows)
Confirmed in the Mainstream Media: A Lot of Microsoft "Workloads" Were Just LLM Slop (Helping to Fake Growth for Years, as Microsoft Had Paid "Open" "AI" to Become a "Client") and Demand is Rapidly Waning, Datacentres Canceled and/or Shut Down
Anything to facilitate further accounting fraud
Taiwan's Media Covers Closure of Microsoft's "AI" Lab, It's Time to Talk About the Gradual Death of Windows and Implosion of the "AI" Bubble
Earlier this week we showed that mostly Asian media had the 'nerve' to mention Microsoft silently shutting down its 'AI' lab
IBM Gets Rid of Kelly Chambliss as Mass Layoffs Reported in IBM Consulting, IBM Loses Key Contracts/Graft
IBM Consulting has been in disarray lately
More Gains for GNU/Linux, Based on Web Surveys
the Steam site shows rapid growth for "Linux" this month
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux Articles, Not Even Written by Humans
Why aren't Web sites more vocal about this problem?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 02, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Links 03/04/2025: Apple Fined Over Secret Surveillance, "Elegant Writer For A More Civilized Age"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: Books and Cold Tea
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: More Layoffs, Nokia Again Takes Advantage of Illegal and Unconstitutional Patent Court With Nokia Staff as 'Judges'
Links for the day
Links 02/04/2025: Seizures and Returns to Windows of 24 Years Ago
Links for the day
LLM Slop Helps Obscure and Distort News About Layoffs (IBM, GAFAM)
It's hard to find accurate information
Links 02/04/2025: Microsoft Developers Are Threatening to Go on Strike, World Backup Day Noted
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Has Growing Appeal (the Web Got Too Bloated and Full of LLM Slop)
For any "data plan" with bandwidth limits or "tiers" it would be cheaper to use/browse Geminispace
The Web Can Survive LLM Slop, But Only If We Collectively Shun and Discourage Serial Sloppers
Doing nothing ought not be a possibility
Amid Secret Shut-downs and Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (4 Waves of Layoffs in 3 Months of 2025) Some Microsoft Staff Expected to Go On Strike
workers going on strike
Gemini Links 02/04/2025: No more on Mastodon and Gemini Mention Script in Go
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 01, 2025
My Motion Disbarring or “Striking Off” Brett Wilson LLP for Enabling Violent Americans Who Try to Crush Microsoft Critics in the United Kingdom by Multiple SLAPPs
"Guns for hire" (for Microsoft people who received Microsoft salaries)
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Hijacked Again by Patent Litigation Industry, as President Cheeto Prioritises Aggressors
The "mafia" has taken over the "industry" and the Federal system (justice and constitutions trampled upon)
Ubuntu Slop and FUD Manufactured With LLMs and Funded (by Oneself) 'Studies'
Slop and FUD are ruining the Web