14 DAY TRIAL // The chairman of Foxconn Technology Group blasted Microsoft for its patent lawsuit, explaining that he considers the legal action “a personal attack against him and his company,” as reported by Bloomberg.
Microsoft filed a lawsuit earlier this month against Foxconn over unpaid royalties for a series of patents covering Android technologies. Microsoft says it has a deal with Foxconn since 2013, and the company is required to pay for using technologies protected by patents on the devices it manufactures.
But Foxconn chairman Terry Gou says this is just a “wrongful” attempt to get money for Android software.
“Microsoft is falling behind in the smartphone era faced with the rise of Android so now it is adopting such a bad strategy,” Gou was quoted as saying. “I really sympathize with them.”
Microsoft, on the other hand, says it’s only trying to obtain the royalties it deserves as per the contract signed in 2013.
“Microsoft takes its own contractual commitments seriously and we expect other companies to do the same,” the company explained in a press release.
Foxconn says it’ll fight back
Gou says Foxconn “has never paid any patent fees to Microsoft,” and explained that a legal dispute with the world’s number one software firm wouldn’t cause any loss to his firm. Patent infringement isn’t an issue for his company, Gou said according to Reuters.
“They should not pick on manufacturers,” Gou continued. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Foxconn’s chairman was furious upon hearing about the lawsuit and promised to “fight back.”
In a statement released this week, Microsoft said it was working with Foxconn on resolving the dispute.
“This legal action is simply to exercise the reporting and audit terms of a contract we signed in 2013 with Hon Hai. Our working relationship with Hon Hai is important and we are working to resolve our disagreement,” a company spokesperson said.
The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of California on Friday.