With all of the patent wars we have seen in the past year of 2012, there wasn’t one dispute that you saw with Google directly. Strange isn’t it? Yet some of the manufacturers are close partners with Google like Samsung for example. When the Apple vs. Samsung trial became real with the verdict of ‘guilty,’ many often wondered why Google wasn’t helping their biggest partner.
However, Google released a statement saying that since the patent disputes didn’t deal with the Android operating system directly, they would be excluding themselves from participating in any way. Now that didn’t mean they weren’t doing something behind the scenes of course, but Google made a good move here by not getting any bad PR.
As this has shown, Google is not one who likes the “patent suit players,” but they have shown to like the “patent suit game.” The Network World released a report that Google increased their “patent filings” last year. In 2012 Google filed and were granted 1,151 US patents. This is a 170% increase from 2011. A huge jump right?
This huge acquire of new patents actually pushed them past Apple who was at 1,136 patents for 2012, which was only a 68% increase from 2011 for Apple. Wow! That’s a huge difference indeed!
It would appear that even though Google is not involved in any patents disputes thus far, they sure have been busy making sure they have a “stronger intellectual property portfolio capable of combatting lawsuits from competitors.” With “competitors” like Apple I can see why Google felt the need to increase their inventory of patents.
The huge increase of patents also included Google merging with Motorola Mobility, but according to the Federal Trades Commission, most of those patents acquired have proved “invaluable” to Google.
With this recent report, does anyone feel like Google is stepping up their “A” game? It kind of makes a person wonder if Google is afraid of finally taken to court. Or is Google truly making a good strategic move here?
What does the world of Android readers think? Is Google scared, or are they being smart? Tell in the comments below!
Source: BGR