Not sure what verb to use here, really. Gets, grabs, apprehends, takes hold of, captures, nabs, pinches.

Microsoft has signed an agreement with device maker Compal wherein the software giant will get a cut of every sale that Compal makes on Android – Chrome based devices. It’s a settlement of Microsoft’s patent claims related to that technology. This deal follows earlier similar agreements with hardware makers Quanta and Wistron.

I’m confident that in a year and a half of hosting this show, I’ve never typed the words Compal, Quanta, or Wistron before. And that reveals a lot of Microsoft’s strategy. Rather than go after the large, well-funded Google, Microsoft is picking off the pawns one by one.

It’s also how Microsoft has long operated, right down to the concept of licensing all the software you have running on your PC right now. They invent something (or claim to have) and then make all the money off licenses to run what’s been built. It’s made them quite a bit of cash.