No confusion, joey. You wrote:
<"...Microsoft has agreed to pay $23 million to VirnetX to settle the patent dispute and expand Microsoft's license..."
Of course. That why they pay 23 million, to expand existing license to Skype. Question is, is it a fully paid license like before?>
If it's not a fully paid licence, then there are other elements to the agreement that will bring in future revenue, very possibly on a recurring basis. Otherwise, Microsoft may offer logistical support. I do not think that is an illogical inference from the language of the press release, especially the awkward sentence "All other aspects of the agreement were not disclosed." The original Microsoft agreement also had elements that were not made public. The difference here is that the amount paid is so small, a mere 11.5% of the previous settlement, in a world where secure communications have become ever more vital, that it seems bizarre not to have negotiated either for further royalties on Skype and Lync, or for a cooperative venture of some sort. Skype has a huge market share at this point.
As I speculated this afternoon, such a venture might even involve the rollout of GABRIEL. As Amadeus suggests, we should know for sure a year from now, but I would not be surprised if Wall Street analysts paint some color into the picture in the next several weeks.