Google buys Motorola Mobility, looks to protect Android from competitors
Google sent shockwaves in the mobile world by announcing it is acquiring Motorola Mobility for US$12.5 billion. Patents are the presumptive focus of this acquisition, as Motorola's cellphone business has over 17,000 patents in its portfolio and over 7,000 patents pending in the USPTO. Larry Page sums it up when he says,
"Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google's patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies."
Motorola may have the strongest patent portfolio among Android handset makers, but that didn't stop Apple from challenging the US company in court.
As you may remember, Apple is engaged in a heated legal battle with Motorola Mobility. Motorola launched the first strike when it filed a complaint with the ITC and a formal patent infringement lawsuit against Apple in October 2010. Apple responded with its own lawsuit and ITC complaint a few weeks later. These legal battles are still ongoing.
Recently, Apple targeted the Motorola Xoom in a German legal filing. The complaint was referenced in a larger complaint against Samsung and focused on the design of the Xoom and its similarity to the iPhone.
