Microsoft previously suggested Samsung stopped paying royalties in late 2013, with the electronics giant arguing the Nokia deal (by making Microsoft a phone manufacturer itself) nullifies the 2011 Microsoft/Samsung deal and requires a new cross-licensing agreement to be inked.
The bottom-line impact of a settlement could be big: Samsung paid $1B in royalties to Microsoft in 2013 (pure gross profit, or close to it), and Samsung, though losing ground in recent quarters, still maintained a 20% Q4 global smartphone share, per IDC.
Microsoft’s total “Windows Phone” licensing revenue (includes Android royalties) amounted to $2.54B in FY14 (ended June ’14). Nokia licensing payments (no longer being made) accounted for $382M of the figure.