If approved by federal regulators, Google has just purchased Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. Much has been written about the growth of Google's Android operating system in the smartphone market. Now, Google's purchase moves it into the smartphone manufacturing business.
Google may also have been interested in the 17,00 patents owned by Motorola Mobility. And there are 7,500 patents awaiting approval. These patents are likely to have had a huge impact on the $12.5 billion price tag. The patents will enable Google to gain more control over the market for all types of mobile devices. These patents may also assist Google in its defense of the Android operating system in numerous pending lawsuits. These suites allege Google stole the innovations of other companies. “Google should be in a much better position to protect itself and its partners from legal attacks,” said Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst William Power.
There is a battle going on over patents for mobile devices. Currently, one may patent any number of different phone features. For example, one may patent the way icons are positioned on the phone's screen. Companies can own intellectual property rights to the finger swipes that allow users to switch between applications or scroll through text in messages.
Apple patented the way an application expands to fill the screen when its icon is tapped. Apple also recently sued HTC Corp. because it makes Android phones that can do this too.
Verizon Communications, Inc. said Google's bid for Motorola Mobility was a welcome development because it may bring “stability” to the recent patent disputes. “At first glance, to the extent that this deal might bring some stability to the ongoing smartphone patent disputes, that would be a welcome development,” said John Thorne, Verizon's senior vice president and deputy general counsel. Verizon is the largest seller of Android phones in North America. It relied heavily on the Motorola Droid smartphone in its battle to sell more phones than Apple. Currently, Android is the top-selling smartphone operating system in the world, commanding almost 43% of the market as of second quarter 2011, according to industry researcher Gartner.
Do you think Nokia or RIM will be next?
