Google strengthens Android by acquiring 1K more IBM patents

Google continued its journey to acquire intellectual property by buying 1,023 patents from IBM in an attempt to strengthen the security of its Android mobile operating system.The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced the purchase officially after recording the patent transfers noted by SEO by the Sea. Jim Prosser, spokesman of Google confirmed the transaction but forbade to give the details of the deal which occurred on August, 17, according to the USPTO’s records.

Just after two days of the announcement of $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola by Google, the Mountain View, Calif., software company purchased more than a thousand patents from IBM. This hints towards the interest of company in enhancing the patent portfolio, even after risking its claim on Motorola’s 17,000 issued patents and 7,500 current applications.

The company has also bought a batch of 1,030 patents from IBM in July, so the company has not turned towards the technology giant for the first time.

Google has also found the IP collection of a growing company outclassed by the contenders. Last month, CEO, Larry Page said that the collaboration between Motorola and Google proved to be an amazing effort in order to protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.
Google was recently found complaining that its rivals have merged together and are plotting strategies against it. This is done by banding together to acquire groups of “fake patents” from Novell and Nortel.

In the end of June, Apple led a association including Microsoft, Sony and Research in Motion in bidding against Google. Microsoft, on part of Novell’s patent claimed that Google was also invited to join the group, but it refused the invitation.

The war of patents between Apple and Android broke out this month when HTC took patents it had received from Google recently and sued Apple for infringement promptly. Google itself had received the patents from Palm, Motorola and Openwave over the past year.
With the chief Android vendor of the Technology globe, Apple too is caught in numerous vicious legal battles. The iPhone producer is recently banned permanently on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Germany but became victorious in its complaint against HTC with the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Android vendors are also fronting with patent royalty attack from Microsoft. With Acer, Viewsonic, Wistron Corp., Velocity Micro, General Dynamics and Onkyo Corp, Microsoft has smacked patent licensing agreements (1, 2) on a key licensing deal with HTC that may offer $5 on the sale of each Android smartphone.