Samsung in a recent court filing has claimed continuing its deal with Microsoft even after the Redmond’s acquisition of Nokia’s handset business would have led to issues with U.S. anti-trust laws.
The lawsuit filed by Microsoft earlier this year accused Samsung of breaching a patent royalty agreement that required the South Korean smartphone maker to pay Microsoft royalties for phones and tablets that use the software maker’s patented technology.
Redmond claimed Samsung made royalty payments on time during the first fiscal year after they signed the agreement in 2011. But the electronics giant did refuse to make the second payment after Microsoft announced the Nokia deal in September 2013, arguing that the acquisition breached its licensing agreement with the software maker.
Samsung eventually paid, but without adding interest, which amounted to around $6.9 million.
In its counterclaim filed Thursday, Samsung pointed out that “Once Microsoft acquired Nokia, it became a direct hardware competitor with Samsung and they refused to continue sharing some sensitive information. Doing so could have created problems with U.S. antitrust laws. The agreements, now between competitors, invite charges of collusion.”
Samsung has asked the court to not only rule out Microsoft’s claims but also to award the smart phone damages for “Microsoft’s breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing” following its acquisition of Nokia’s phone business.
In response, Microsoft said in a statement to Reuters that it was “confident that our case is strong” and that it will succeed.
