Tip UsIn another twist in the ongoing patent war between HTC and Apple, HTC are now suing Apple with the help of patents they bought from Google.
The Taiwanese based company filed infringement claims against Apple today using the newly owned patents. The nine patents originated with Palm, then Motorola then Openwave System before Google took ownership of them.
Google would not comment on their reason for selling the patents to HTC. They have however been criticized in the past for standing on the sidelines whilst HTC came under pressure from Apple. Florian Mueller, a Munich-based consultant and intellectual property activist said, “Google knows that HTC is under tremendous legal pressure from Apple and clearly on the losing track. This intervention on Google’s part increases the likelihood of direct litigation by Apple against Google.”
HTC were the first phone on the market to run Android and have since went onto become one of the largest smartphone companies in the world with most of their phones running Google’s Android OS. Will Stofega, a technology analyst at Framingham, Massachusetts-based IDC says, “Google was interested in protecting its licensees with Android. It shows they need to support their customers in order to make sure the customers stick with them.”
This move by Google completely changes the direction of the patent war. Companies such as Samsung, Motorola and HTC have come under huge pressure from Apple for patent infringements in recent months, most recently Apple succeeded in getting the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 7.7 banned in Germany. However this latest news suggests Google are ready to fight Apple and protect it’s Android partners.
Just recently Google acquired more than 17,000 patents when they paid $12.5 billion for Motorola Mobility. This will add to their ever increasing patent portfolio as a defense against intellectual property lawsuits and by the looks of things they may need all the patents they can get after this move which is sure to anger Apple.
As always when we have more news on the ongoing patent war we’ll keep you updated. Let us know what you think via Twitter, Facebook or leave us a comment below.
