| Microsoft, Samsung expand smartphone partnership |
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Microsoft and Samsung Electronics have agreed to cross-license each other's patent portfolios, with Microsoft getting royalties for mobile phones and tablets Samsung sells that run the Android operating system. Microsoft Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday that they also will work together to develop and market Microsoft's Windows Phone software. Financial terms were not disclosed. Research firm IDC says Samsung was the No. 2 smartphone maker in the world in the second quarter, behind Apple Inc. The patent deal is likely to be a boost for Microsoft, which is scrambling to build a mobile version of Windows that will be more widely embraced in the smartphone market, where it has fallen behind Google's Android as well as Apple's iPhone operating system. Samsung's Galaxy phones, which propelled it to No. 2 from No. 4 in the smartphone market, run on Android. Shares of Microsoft rose 36 cents to $26.03 in morning trading. 
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