At the end of last week, Samsung – predictably – lost their legal battle brought upon them by Apple. Thus leading Samsung having to pay $1.049 billion to the Cupertino outfit. Of course, both Apple and Samsung were happy to talk to the press however, Google were relatively quiet until now. They’ve come out with a statement and as usual for Google they’ve been very careful to keep the matter as far away as they can.
Google have responded with a response that is a little vague to say the least but it does reassure the rest of its partners – those that choose to stick closer to stock Android anyway – that of the Patents involved in the case “most of these don’t relate to the core Android operating system”. This is realistically, the only important line in Google’s statement, it’s basically them saying to Apple and everyone else “You haven’t got anything on stock Android”. Whilst stock Android indeed, still comes with a bounceback effect on scrolling there isn’t much else in stock Android that Apple could claim infringes on design patents. Although, I really wouldn’t be surprised if we saw them try.
If there’s anything that Android partners should take away from this is that perhaps Stock Android might be the safe option from now on. Apple has, unfortunately, proved that the US courts are more than happy to help them succeed their anti-competitive agenda. OEMs that choose to pack in Stock or at least close to it may well garner more support than Samsung were given. You can read the full statement from Google down below:-
“The court of appeals will review both infringement and the validity of the patent claims. Most of these don’t relate to the core Android operating system, and several are being re-examined by the US Patent Office. The mobile industry is moving fast and all players — including newcomers — are building upon ideas that have been around for decades. We work with our partners to give consumers innovative and affordable products, and we don’t want anything to limit that.”