“Google believes that Microsoft’s and Apple’s purchases of patents are anticompetitive, and that the mobile patents they own are bogus. To combat this, Google is going to acquire its own (bogus?) patents,” Paul Thurrott writes for Paul Thurrott’s SUpersite for Windows.
“Google licenses Android for free. So by raising the price of Android by imposing licensing fees on technologies Android is in fact using, Apple, Microsoft, and others are arguably simply leveling the playing field and taking away an artificial Android advantage, forcing the OS to compete more fairly. Arguably, by ‘dumping’ Android in the market at no cost, Google–which has unlimited cash and can afford to do such a thing–is behaving in an anticompetitive fashion,” Thurrott writes. “In fact, one could argue that Google is using its dominance in search advertising to unfairly gain entry into another market by giving that new product, Android, away for free. Does this remind you of any famous antitrust case?”
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“And where’s the harm to Google here? How can Google, which commands almost double the market share of the next closest competitor in this market and is, in fact, seeing nothing but continued growth, argue that its competitors are acting anti-competitively?” Thurrott wonders. “And speaking of harm, isn’t Google’s Android dumping harming competition? After all, the mobile OS makers it is competing against developed and paid for the technologies they use, and it’s reasonable for them to recoup those costs through the sale of their systems. Why is it OK for Google to steal their ideas and then give the resulting product away?”
Thurrott writes, “There’s no David in this story of Goliaths. But give me a break. Google has simply cast a light on its own dark secrets. It is Google, not Apple and Microsoft, that is behaving badly here.”
Much more in the full article – gulp, recommended (miracles do happen!) – here.
MacDailyNews Take: If even Thurrott can see it clearly…
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Ottawa Mark” for the heads up.]
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