Google VP accuses tech giants of foul play

International

Sophie Roberts - Staff Reporter

Google's senior vice president and chief legal officer David Drummond has accused competing tech giants of running a "hostile, organised campaign" against Android.

In a blog which went live on The Official Google Blog spot, Drummond fiercely speculated over the relationship between Microsoft and Apple concerning joint ventures to purchase patent portfolios, saying, "Microsoft and Apple have always been at each other's throats, so when they get into bed together you have to start wondering what's going on."

Drummond accused Apple, Microsoft, Oracle and "other companies" of trying to make Android smartphones more expensive to consumers by using "bogus patents" in an anti-competitive operation, "escalating the costs of patents way beyond what they're actually worth".

"They're doing this by banding together to acquire Novell's old patents (the "CPTN" group including Microsoft and Apple) and Nortel's old patents (the "Rockstar" group including Microsoft and Apple), to make sure Google didn't get them; seeking $15 licensing fees for every Android device; attempting to make it more expensive for phone manufacturers to license Android (which we provide free of charge) than Windows Phone 7; and even suing Barnes & Noble, HTC, Motorola, and Samsung."

He continued, "Patents were meant to encourage innovation, but lately they are being used as a weapon to stop it."

Drummond writes that "in this instance we thought it was important to speak out and make it clear that we're determined to preserve Android as a competitive choice for consumers, by stopping those who are trying to strangle it".

In response to Google's initiative to "speak out", Microsoft's general counsel Brad Smith claimed on Twitter that Microsoft had in fact invited Google to bid jointly for Novell's patents. "Google says we bought Novell patents to keep them from Google. Really? We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no," tweeted Smith, Microsoft's PR team showed a picture of an e-mail that seemed to corroborate his remarks.

There has been much speculation recently surrounding Google's next move, particularly following its failure to get in on Nortel's patent portfolio alongside pressure of current and future litigation surrounding Android and the platform's manufacturers. But it seems that patent growth is a key strategy.

"We're looking at other ways to reduce the anti-competitive threats against Android by strengthening our own patent portfolio," said Drummond. Google has recently purchased over 1,000 IBM patents. "Unless we act, consumers could face rising costs for Android devices - and fewer choices for their next phone."

Drummond reported that around 550,000 Android devices are activated on a daily basis through a network of 39 manufacturers and 231 carriers.