LG the latest to sign Android licensing deal with Microsoft

Microsoft has announced it has signed a licensing deal with LG over the use of Google's Android operating system, which contains several Microsoft patents, in yet another boost for the firm as it continues to profit from its rival's platform.

The deal is the eleventh the firm has signed. Horacio Gutierrez, deputy general counsel in Microsoft's intellectual property group, said it means 70 per cent of all US Android sales are covered by deals with Microsoft.

"We are proud of the continued success of our program in resolving the IP issues surrounding Android and Chrome OS," he added.

The deal is the latest in a long line of agreements Microsoft has struck with major Android vendors, including big name manufacturers such as Samsung and HTC. It could be generating as much as $5 per handset in revenue for the Windows Phone manufacturer.

Google has criticised these deals in the past, accusing Redmond of extortion and of using the revenue to prop up its own fledging smartphone platform, though Microsoft has dismissed these criticisms.

V3 contacted Google to ask if it had any comment on the latest agreement but had received no reply at the time of publication.

The search giant splashed out $12.5bn (£8.2bn) on Motorola in part to gain access to a large trove of mobile patents, but this does not appear to have assured key Android manufacturers they would be safe from legal action from Microsoft.

The lack of faith shown by these vendors and ongoing financial difficulties with Motorola have caused Google investors to lose faith in the deal, with the firm's share price dropping by four per cent this week.