LG Signs Android Patent Agreement With Microsoft

Microsoft appears to be nearing the full set of major Android device manufacturers signing up for its patent licensing scheme to protect themselves from a lawsuit from the Redmond-based company, with LG the latest to sign on the dotted line.

LG announced their latest smartphone, the LG Spectrum, this week at CES 2012 – a device that will be sporting Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) at launch, but with an Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) upgrade coming soon afterwards. Whichever version of Android the device is running, however, it will still require legal cover to protect the company from Microsoft’s legal team – and that is what this agreement provides. In a statement, Micorosft’s Corporate VP and deputy legal counsel, Horacio Gutierrez, said:

We are pleased to have built upon our longstanding relationship with LG to reach a mutually beneficial agreement

LG joins Samsung, HTC, ACER, and others that already have similar agreements with Microsoft – who are rumoured to be making $5 from the sale of most Android phones on the market today.