GOOGLE HAS accused Microsoft and Oracle of waging a “hostile, organised campaign” against its Android mobile software, a sign of escalating tension in the technology industry’s patent war.
The company’s rivals are joining forces to purchase patents to keep them out of Google’s hands and taking other steps to make it more expensive for handset makers to use the Android operating system, Google chief legal officer David Drummond said in a blog posting.
“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,” Mr Drummond wrote.
Android’s success had resulted in a “hostile, organised campaign against Android by Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents”, he said.
Apple, Microsoft and Google have ramped up spending on patent portfolios in recent months to gain exclusive rights to a broadening array of technology, much of it used in the emerging area of smartphones.
As bidding intensifies, prices for patents are surging, fuelling concerns that portfolios are overvalued. – (Bloomberg)
