By securing its latest patent licensing deal with a Taiwanese smartphone and tablet manufacturer, Microsoft has found a creative way of profiting from its competitor and generating revenues from the sale of Android devices.

"Today's announcement marks Microsoft's ninth Android agreement in the last four months," noted Microsoft attorneys Brad Smith and Horacio Gutierrez in a blog post. "More important, today's announcement means that companies accounting for more than half of all Android devices have entered into patent license agreements with Microsoft."

Earlier this year, InfoWorld contributor Woody Leonhard suggested that Microsoft made more money from Android mobile device shipments in the first quarter of 2011 than it did from its own Windows Phone platform. The latest agreement has likely tipped the scales even further in Microsoft's favor.

According to Ars Technica, Google has grown increasingly frustrated by this practice in recent months. However, Microsoft maintains that it is reaping the rewards of careful intellectual property law analysis. As a result, the company's valuable mobile device IP portfolio now includes patents related to managing contact databases and regulating flash memory.