It seems that Google and its acquired Motorola unit are undergoing a patent battle with a British telecoms group:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/13/us-google-bt-lawsuit-idUSBRE91C1J920130213
The article reads as a pretty straightforward patent battle, similar to what we've been discussing in class about Apple v Samsung and other such litigation. However, what interested me is that in a statement, a Google spokeswoman called BT out for "arming patent trolls" and also claimed that they have no choice to retaliate, because Google "works hard to avoid lawsuits".
It's somewhat refreshing to hear that at least one mobile tech company out there is trying to avoid lawsuits, but on the other hand Google is certainly involved with several cases at almost all times. It seems that actions speak louder than words in this case. But perhaps they really are just being forced into a bad situation by prosecutors and patent trolls that think they can make money off of Google's multi-billion dollar business.
However, the most ironic part of the case seems to be the following: Google is suing BT for infringing one of those patents. And how did Google obtain those patents? "In its lawsuit from International Business Machines Corp in 2010".
So it seems that actions certainly do speak louder than words, and maybe Google doesn't hate lawsuits as much as they want us to believe.
I think we have different sources of information. I read the Google is suing BT for technologies which they developed in house. Either way, I agree with you about the hypocrisy. However, I can't really blame them for engaging in so much patent litigation. It seems like that's the only way to survive in the software industry right now if you're a big company.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see how Google is implementing their victory from one lawsuit as leverage in another. Perhaps they're trying to be more covert in their "Patent War" tactics so they don't get the bad press.
ReplyDeleteIt's strange that Google is chasing down such a small sum that would be owed to them for the greater scheme of having full rights of use to their patented technologies. At most BT would pay up a few million for the violation, and Google would spend much more to call them out on it.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like companies are all involved in lawsuits these days. If you don't sue someone, you'll get sued. So, since you'll be involved in lawsuits either way, you might as well sue to get something out of it. Maybe that's why Google is suing Microsoft.
ReplyDelete