Motorola is already suing Apple(and Apple is suing Motorola) over Motorola's patents. That shouldn't change with Google's acquisition, and any resolution of the suit would probably make Apple a licensee of the patents, making them immune to any suits over them.
But given that all these device makers are facing the lawsuits because of their adoption of android its fair for Google to take the moral responsibility and countersue everyone who is suing the device makers. It looks odd that they are left to defend for themselves here.
A patent holder is not required to license their patent. If found valid by the court, they are free to enjoin others from using their technology for the duration of the patent period.
Motorola is counter-suing Apple, though. Without knowing exactly what patents each party is saying the other is infringing on, I would wager that the endgame for both companies is now a cross-license agreement more than an injunction against the other's products.
I don't think it's ever been as clear as now that the patent system is broken. Everyone is suing everyone else, and if anything innovation just goes on in the background regardless of patents.
That's a way to battle unemployment that is caused by technological progress... just enlarge the not-productive sectors until everyone has a job shuffling papers around.
Maybe true but that obscures the fact that the recent escalation of patent madness is caused by Apple suing every Android manufacturer. What I'm saying is, Steve Jobs is an asshole.
You have to wonder how much cheaper mobiles would be if companies hadn't a) patented all the obvious ways to do things and b) spent millions suing each other.
I blame the patent office. There was a segment on NPR yesterday where they pointed out in some cases there are thousands of patents that cover the same invention. Isn't that why you have a patent office... to prevent this from happening? Instead all the real decision making is kicked (expensively) into the courts.
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[ 4.9 ms ] story [ 47.9 ms ] threadUS Patent #7,417,944 (ADC) US Patent #7,672,219 (ADC) US Patent #7,765,414 (HTC)
Here is a way to abolish patents -- overload the court system with it.
Unless one side has no products.
If one side merely has no (relevant) patents, it usually just means they're going to go buy some patents and then make their counter-suit.
I blame the patent office. There was a segment on NPR yesterday where they pointed out in some cases there are thousands of patents that cover the same invention. Isn't that why you have a patent office... to prevent this from happening? Instead all the real decision making is kicked (expensively) into the courts.