Google Faces Patent Litigation as Android Dominance Increases

Strategic Insights -

As Google Inc. continues to expand its dominance in the industry, the company is facing more patent litigation, with over 33% of smartphones sold carrying the Android operating system. Transcenic Inc., a small Lake Charles, Louisiana-based company, has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Delaware against Google, Microsoft Corporation, AmericaOnline, Inc. (AOL), and MapQuest, Inc., alleging that Google's mapping services infringe on its patents. Meanwhile, Oracle Corp. has sued Google over Java in Google's development of the Android OS, and several mobile companies have sued Android partners for patent infringement.

Key Takeaways:

  • Google is facing patent litigation from Transcenic Inc. over alleged infringement of its spatial referenced images and three-dimensional positional database system patents.
  • Oracle Corp. has sued Google over Java in Google's development of the Android OS, alleging that Google competes with Oracle America's Java.
  • Several mobile companies, including Apple and Microsoft, have sued Android partners for patent infringement.
  • Google negotiated to buy 6,000 patents from Nortel Networks but lost the auction to a consortium of tech companies.
  • Google General Counsel Kent Walker stated that one of a company's best defenses against litigation is to have a formidable patent portfolio.
  • Google has urged new laws and lobbied Congress to make it easier to challenge patents.

Statistics:

  • 33% of smartphones sold carry the Android operating system.
  • Google lost a patent auction to a consortium of tech companies for $4.5 billion.
  • The consortium consisted of Apple Inc., Microsoft, Research In Motion Ltd., Sony Corp., Ericsson AB, and EMC Corp.
  • Google has a $900 million offer for the 6,000 patents from Nortel Networks.
  • A $290 million jury verdict was upheld in a U.S. Supreme Court decision against Microsoft in a patent infringement case.
  • 6,000 patents were available at the Nortel Networks bankruptcy auction.

Sources:

  • Bloomberg News
  • U.S. District Court in Delaware
  • Oracle Corp.
  • Apple Inc.
  • Microsoft Corporation
  • Research In Motion Ltd.
  • Sony Corp.
  • Ericsson AB
  • EMC Corp.
  • Microsoft
  • Nortel Networks