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| picture via android.com |
That the success of Android has ruffled some feathers in the technology world is nothing new. What is new, however, is the recent accusation by Google of a "hostile, organized campaign against Android by Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents," which Google goes on to say is an anti-competitive practice that will only result in more expensive Android phones and fewer phone options for consumers.
Controlling patents is a common way to protect yourself from - or arm yourself for - litigation, and Google claims its rivals are stocking up on patents big time, lamenting that "instead of competing by building new features or devices, they are fighting through litigation." Google was a recent bidder in a large quantity of patents owned by Nortel, which had a pre-auction estimated value of around $1 billion. Google bid $900 million, well behind the winning bid of a whopping $4.5 billion by a consortium including Microsoft, Apple, and others. Google has recently picked up a cache of 1000 or so patents from IBM, but that is well under the 6000 or so owned by Nortel they missed out on.
Further reading: Take a walk down memory lane to read about the former friendly relations between Apple and Google and how they soured.
Via Google Blog
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