http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014 ... r-patents/
The list of patents was apparently produced as part of a Chinese government antitrust review relating to Microsoft's purchase of Nokia. Microsoft described the results of that review in an April 8 blog post, writing that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) "concluded after its investigation that Microsoft holds approximately 200 patent families that are necessary to build an Android smartphone."
To suggest the lists are the "conclusion" of the Chinese government is unusual phrasing. It's unlikely anyone other than Microsoft itself would have the expertise and resources needed to sift through its thousands of patents and decide which ones they believe read on Android.
More likely, Microsoft was compelled to produce the list to appease Chinese regulators, who feared that the software giant could become more aggressive with its patents after the Nokia purchase. It seems equally likely that Microsoft wouldn't be too thrilled about the patents being published on a public webpage. In fact, the English-language version of the MOFCOM site about the merger doesn't have the patent lists.
- android-sharks.jpg (66.72 KiB) Viewed 4560 times
http://images.mofcom.gov.cn/pep/201404/ ... 59274.docx
http://images.mofcom.gov.cn/pep/201404/ ... 30296.docx
