“The company that Google bought for $12.5 billion to protect Android from patent threats cannot even protect itself,” Florian Mueller reports for FOSS Patents. “Areamobile, a high-quality German news website focused on wireless communications devices, reports today (in an article that also mentions last Friday’s ruling) that German customers face a ‘heavily-shrunk’ choice of Android-based Motorola smartphones. I had previously heard something similar from a news agency reporter who is following some of the German Android-related lawsuits. Areamobile noted that Motorola Mobility’s German website lists only three Android-based smartphones — and no tablet computer.”
Mueller reports, “It appears that Google as a whole is struggling to keep up with the fast-growing number of Android-related patent infringements identified by courts in the United States, Europe and Asia. Google engineers probably have to spend a significant part of their time now on workarounds. And in some cases, workarounds would result in incompatibilities with many (or even all) existing Android apps.”
Mueller reports, “But to be clear, now-Google-owned Motorola Mobility is not a victim. It was Motorola Mobility’s choice in the spring of 2011 to sue Apple in Mannheim before Apple filed any lawsuit against it outside the United States, and to sue Microsoft in Mannheim in the summer of 2011, also before Microsoft filed any non-U.S. lawsuit against it. Motorola Mobility was trying to take advantage of the fact that injunctions are routinely granted in Germany — and of German case law relating to standard-essential patents. For the same reason, Samsung also sued Apple in Germany before Apple brought any German litigation against Samsung. And Samsung has not won anything against Apple in this country to date.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Google’s going to rue the day they got greedy by deciding to try to work against Apple instead of with them. – MacDailyNews Take, March 09, 2010
Couldn’t happen to a more evil company now made eviler by the Borg-like Google. “Prepare to be ass-humiliated.”
No Motorola smart phones/tablets in Germany?! What a blow, they’ll miss out on perhaps a dozen or so unit sales.
Smart man. Concentrate on AAPL. Focus on what Apple does right rather than what Google does wrong. Leave the name calling to the fanboys. That’s just plain childish and immature. Act like an adult.
Google’s had a tremendous run in stock price recently, but perhaps this may be a signal to take profits. I doubt this turn of events in Germany is the end of bad things to come for Google or Motorola. It may only be the ‘end of the beginning’.
“Google’s” AND SAMSUNG’S “going to rue the day they got greedy by deciding to try to work against Apple instead of with them.”
Line them up. Apple has billions to keep playing this game. They don’t!
So it went from ‘Droid Does’ to ‘Droid Did’?!
Great move. As a German I can say: I’ve never seen anybody with such a device in the wild. No idea who ever bought a Motorola phone or tablet.
Until now Android has cost Google in 13 billion dollars for acquisitions plus an unknown (probably some billions) sum for development plus huge ligation costs. In total a sum of far more than 15 billion dollars while generating less than 600 million (in total in 4 years) AND alienating a former ally.
Could someone enlighten me what kind of idiot runs Google???? And why.
It’s about advertising not selling phones. Well, it’s not Eric the mole anymore. It’s back to the original founders. And if you keep up with such things as stock prices, Google has beaten Apple handily lately. But I think that that will change by January. I expect Apple to be above $700 by January. Google makes money on advertising and that is not going away. They don’t need to worry about a new phone that comes out. They are on many, many phones. AAPL needs to monetize advertising and create other revenue streams because at some point in the future selling hardware will not be profitable. That’s just a fact. Google maybe evil, and I think it is, but they are not going broke. Why do you think AAPL wants to get into media distribution? Revenue. Why do you think they are trying to sell advertising through iAds? Revenue. They know that they can’t keep selling phones with high margins much longer. Apple understands this better than we do. They just have been unsuccessful in those areas so far. But their very existence depends upon doing well at such things. This is a great time to pick up some AAPL. Don’t miss this opportunity.
You are an unintelligent, ill-informed moron. Shut up.
Duplication is NOT Innovation.©™
Karma is a Bitch and she’s pissed.
^^ 1
Nothing like instant feedback from a $12.5 Billion splurge.
And watch the Goog stock soar after at news. All these investors must be drinking the cool aid.
There’s something gratifying about Google Evil coming back and biting off their ass. 😕
Troll
Said the troll. You’re an endless source of intelligent conversation GM. /sarcasm