Rockstar Consortium, backed by many tech giants such as Apple, Microsoft and BlackBerry, has launched suits against numerous Android partners in the past. Google has now launched a counter-lawsuit, deciding to fight back.
The whole drama started back in 2011, when Nortal Network was up for sale. The company held 6,000 patents, many of them related to wireless, data networking, wireless 4G and other components of wireless communications. Google tried hard to outbid the rivals and bag the patents by offering up to $4.4 billion, but the Rockstar Consortium outbid the search giant and pocketed the treasure-trove of patents for $4.5 billion.
It is understandable that the Consortium was able to offer so much since it has the support of Sony, Ericsson, BlackBerry, Apple and Microsoft. Google then decided to off-set this loss by purchasing Motorola Mobility, a deal which brought many highly valuable patents to Google’s portfolio.
Since Nortal’s purchase, the Rockstar Consortium has been coming after Android vendors and partners in various lawsuits. This, naturally, has affected Google’s Android platform. So the company is ramping up for a fight-back.
In a lawsuit filed against Rockstar Consortium, Google alleges that the Consortium’s cases have put ‘a cloud on Google’s Android platform; threatened Google’s business and relationships with its customers and partners, as well as its sales of Nexus-branded Android devices; and created a justiciable controversy between Google and Rockstar.’
The filing of the case further affirms this claim by citing, “Among the myriad companies ensnared in Rockstar’s patent dragnet are customers and partners of Google who use the Android platform in their devices, including ASUS, HTC, Huawei, LG, Pantech, Samsung, and ZTE.”
It remains to be seen how successful Google’s counter-litigation is. The search giant may be able to scoop a victory by hinging on competition fairness, but that depends on how the case proceeds.
Courtesy: CNET
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