Google has purchased Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. The deal still must be approved by Chinese regulators, although it has already received approval from both the United States and Europe. The reason that Google has spent so much money on purchasing Motorola is to beef up its patent portfolio, according to Allen Lo, Google's Deputy General Counsel. Lo, who previously worked for three years at the US Patent and Trademark Office, oversees the patent law group at Google.
The reason Google wants all Motorola's patents, and continues to try to increase their patent count, is to play defense in patent litigation. According to an article by CNET, Google has not once sued another company for patent infringement. Not once. This seems amazing to me, that a company so large, who probably gets infringed upon more than any other, has never been the aggressor in patent litigation. Lo was quoted as saying, "We have principles, things that we don't see ourselves doing." I guess they just do business by not worrying about what other companies are doing, and focusing their resources on bettering their company. It really seems to be working out for them.
While Google does not believe in suing other companies, they will not shy away when someone tries to sue them. This is also one of the main reasons they want a larger patent portfolio. It seems that often times when a company gets sued for patent infringement, a good defense is to have a good offense, meaning a threat of a counter suit. They show the suing company that they have a certain patent, perhaps very similar, and it may lead to both companies wishing to settle outside of court. This article was really interesting to read because not only does it deal with Google, which I have been reading so much about, but it has to do with patent laws and all the stuff we have been learning in class.
No comments:
Post a Comment