Google claims patent attacks are attempt to quash Android threat

by Steven Mostyn - Aug 4 2011, 07:14

Becoming the biggest software player in the smartphone and tablet markets has made Google Android a prime target for rivals in the mobile operating system arena.

However, while that's perhaps to be expected given Android's meteoric rise in usage and popularity, it would appear Google believes its open-source platform is being unfairly treated.

More pointedly, Google's chief legal officer David Drummond has openly accused several industry rivals of waging a “hostile and organized campaign” against Android in an attempt to undermine its positioning.

Said campaign has apparently seen Apple, Microsoft and Oracle all launching patent infringement lawsuits against Google or the front-running device manufacturers that play host to Android.

And if the courts should rule against Google in these patent disputes, the search giant could be forced to pay billions of dollars in damages—which could also bleed over into significantly damaging Android.

“We're determined to preserve Android as a competitive choice for consumers, by stopping those who are trying to strangle it,” Drummond ranted on Google's official blog. “Unless we act, consumers could face rising costs for Android devices—and fewer choices for their next phone.”

Drummond also contends that a consortium fronted by Apple and Microsoft coughed up $4.5 billion USD to snap up patents held by defunct telecoms company Nortel in order “to make sure Google wouldn't get them” and use them to bolster its dominance.

In answering that claim, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith has offered up a Twitter post in which he claims Google recently turned down an invitation from the Redmond-based software giant to join it in purchasing available patents from Novell.

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