Google throws a tantrum -- accuses Microsoft, others, of "hostile, organized campaign"

A few weeks ago, Google was involved in bidding for 6,000 patents being offered by Nortel, which many thought if Google should win, would beef up their defense force against patent litigation. Instead, they lost to a consortium of Apple tree, Microsoft, RIM, Sony, EMC and Ericsson for $4.5 billion. Basically everyone won except Google. At the fourth dimension this story was spun two ways:

Nortel'southward patent were old, outdated and not worth the money for Google
Google wasn't taking it seriously, with Reuters calling their behavior "mystifying" because their bids reflected famous mathematical constants (Brun's, Meissel-Mertens and Pi). Yes, Google actually bid Pi ($3.14159 billion). So in an endeavor to exist cute and witty, they lost.

After all the gnashing of teeth past tech analysts, who kept pounding Google on their lack of patent strategy, Google has come out with some name calling and accusations of their own:

"Only Android'due south success has yielded something else: a hostile, organized campaign against Android by Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents.

They're doing this by banding together to acquire Novell's old patents (the "CPTN" grouping including Microsoft and Apple) and Nortel's old patents (the "Rockstar" group including Microsoft and Apple), to brand sure Google didn't become them; seeking $15 licensing fees for every Android device; attempting to make it more than expensive for phone manufacturers to license Android (which we provide free of charge) than Windows Mobile; and even suing Barnes & Noble, HTC, Motorola, and Samsung. Patents were meant to encourage innovation, merely lately they are being used as a weapon to stop it."

That's David Drummond, Senior VP and CLO of Google, who can't even get that's its called Windows Phone, not Mobile. Further, he notes the reported Justice Section'due south probe into whether or non that Nortel consortium was fair. Of form, such a probe is a far mode off from significant those companies are guilty of anything. In fact, zero has been settled in regards to whether or not Android violates patents, uses lifted code, etc.

In the instance of Microsoft, who's leaned on HTC and now Samsung for patent fees, both companies are willing to play brawl either considering they experience those patent claims are indefensible or, more probable, that's it's cheaper to license to Microsoft than defend in court. But hey, it's not like Google/YouTube don't screw with Microsoft either.

In the stop, we don't have anything new hither except that Google is really starting to feel the pain from other companies, hence the 'boo hoo, tech is hard!' post from Drummond. Is Microsoft's, Apple's and others behavior legal, moral and correct? That's for the courts to decide, not missives from company blogs.

Edit: Recommended reading: FossPatent's "Google'southward new anti-patent stance has four credibility issues -- but not the i many people retrieve"

Source: The Official Google Blog