Microsoft executives question Android free sex claims legal risk

Beijing time September 17 Morning News, Microsoft Mobile Communications Department Chief financial Officer Tivanka Elavala (Tivanka Ellawala) said in Thursday, Google's Android operating system is not really free, because it infringes a lot of patents,　　The resulting legal risk will bring hidden costs to vendors using Android. At a science and technology conference held at Deutsche Bank, Elavala was asked whether Android's free, open source model was causing trouble for software vendors such as Microsoft, who responded that Google had been sued for allegedly violating other people's intellectual property. "Google does violate a lot of patents, and that's going to cost some." Last month, Oracle accused Google's Android operating system of allegedly violating its Java intellectual property rights.　　Google's response was that Oracle's lawsuit was "unfounded". As an open source operating system, Android is available to all developers to download the source code and provide it free to handset manufacturers.　　By contrast, Microsoft's mobile operating system can only be obtained by paying license fees.　　About two years ago, Microsoft made a big adjustment to the handset business and will release the latest Windows Phone 7 operating system in the second half of the year.　　According to recent ComScore data, Android gained about 17% of the US smartphone market in less than two years, up from about 11.8% of Microsoft's share. Elavala said the quality of Microsoft's mobile operating system "far exceeds the existing Android," and hinted that handset makers are willing to pay licensing fees for the system. He also said, "We will continue to compete in this field, mobile phone is a very important part of Microsoft business." "(slides)