On Friday, Microsoft is suing Samsung for threatening to stop paying Microsoft royalties for patents behind the Android operating system.The two companies came to a deal in September 2011 to cross-license each other's patent portfolios. Samsung wound up paying Microsoft royalties on a series of patents.
Apple and Samsung have been suing each other for years over patent disagreements.
In a blog post on Friday, Microsoft deputy general counsel David Howard wrote that Microsoft "values and respects our partnership" with Samsung, but differs with Samsung over how to interpret the licensing agreement.
"Unfortunately, even partners sometimes disagree," Howard wrote. In a statement, Samsung said it will review the complaint "in detail" and determine an appropriate response.
Microsoft is trying to compete in the mobile market with products that run on Google Inc's Android operating system.
As part of that landscape, Microsoft has tried to raise the costs for Android handset makers by convincing them to pay Microsoft patent royalties.
Samsung also claims smartphone products sold by Microsoft after the Nokia deal are not covered by the licensing deal, the lawsuit said. Microsoft has asked a judge to make an opposite finding.
The heavily redacted lawsuit does not say how much money Microsoft believes it is owed by Samsung.
Analysts have estimated that Microsoft receives billions of dollars a year in payments through licensing agreements with Android-device makers.
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