Google buys another 222 IBM patents to bolster Android defense

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has acquired another 222 patents from tech giant IBM as it continues its fight to defend its Android mobile operating system from legal threats mounted by the likes of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Oracle.

IDG News reports that IBM transferred the latest set of patents to Google on Dec. 30, 2011. The patents span a wide of array of digital technologies including mobile web page display, instant messaging, email management, e-commerce, advertising and server backup. A Google spokesperson confirmed the deal to IDG but declined to specify how the patents may benefit its products.

IDC program director of mobile device technology and trends William Stofega said it's safe to assume that Google's mobile-related patent acquisitions are intended to shore up Android's legal standing. "Google has had a great run with what they've done so far and it's clear their patent portfolio isn't as rich as those of others, especially in mobile," Stofega told IDG. "If you're going to be a mobile platform player, you need to make sure you have your ducks in a row regarding intellectual property."

Google purchased 1,030 IBM patents in July 2011, landing another 1,023 IBM patents roughly a month later. Google finalized the second patents deal just days after revealing an agreement to acquire Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI) for roughly $12.5 billion. In a blog entry announcing the Motorola purchase, Google CEO Larry Page stated the company initiated the transaction in large part to enhance its product portfolio in an effort to "protect Android from anti-competitive threats."

No fewer than five large, publicly traded companies--Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, eBay and British Telecom--have now brought patent infringement litigation against the Android platform. The Oracle suit, filed in late 2010 and slated to go to trial in 2012, seeks billions in damages against Google, alleging "approximately one-third of Android's Application Programmer Interface (API) packages" are "derivative of Oracle's copyrighted Java API packages" and related documents. (Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems and its Java programming language in April 2009.)

In August, Google senior vice president and chief legal officer David Drummond published a scathing blog post alleging that Oracle, Apple and Microsoft are attempting to "strangle" the Android platform by leveraging "bogus patents" that could drive up costs for devices running the OS. Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has pledged support for manufacturing partners facing patent lawsuits related to Android, promising Google will offer allies information sharing, industry expertise and access to its patents for licensing and legal purposes. Both Samsung Electronics--the world's largest Android device maker--and HTC Corp. are battling patent disputes with Apple.

For more:
- read this IDG News article

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