Microsoft's Response To Google's Android Patent Issue Blogpost

Microsoft’s Response To Google’s Android Patent Issue Blogpost

August 4, 2011 | By Pradeep

Yesterday, Google accused Microsoft and Apple for teaming up against Android in patent acquisitions. Microsoft’s General Counsel Brad Smith tweeted on this matter that Microsoft offered to partner with Google on bidding for Nortel’s patents, but Google declined it. To further clarify the message, Frank Shaw of Microsoft Corporate Communications posted the email reply from Google’s General Counsel to Microsoft.

Here it is:

“Brad –
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you — I came down with a 24-hour bug on the way back from San Antonio. After talking with people here, it sounds as though for various reasons a joint bid wouldn’t be advisable for us on this one. But I appreciate your flagging it, and we’re open to discussing other similar opportunities in the future.

I hope the rest of your travels go well, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
–Kent”

I’m waiting for Google’s reply to this. Anyway, I won’t be surprised if Apple and Microsoft respond to Google’s claims with a patent litigation case ! ! !

Via Geekwire.com

About Pradeep Viswav

Pradeep was a Microsoft Student Partner when he was pursuing his Computer Science & Engineering degree. He now works for a MNC. He is passionate about technology and loves to share his knowledge with people. People used to mention him as “A Geek who is not Nerd”. He was fascinated by the Metro Design language and Windows Phone which made him to follow and develop applications for it. Follow him at twitter.com/pradeepviswav

Anonymous

i hope apple and MS sue google. i hate google so much more than apple. at least apple didnt full on infringe on MS patents and every other patents. plus apple actually has patents of their own to stand on.

Anonymous

If Apple broke a Microsoft patent, all hell would break loose. Anyways, I hate Google for this with an iron fist but Apple is still on my hate list. Doesn’t stop me from getting either company’s products. Those Macs look rather tasty.

Anonymous

Not really – Apple and Microsoft have extensive cross-licensing agreements. I would imagine that is why Apple is being very clear that they are targetting only Android handsets produced by HTC and Samsung – not the Windows Phone 7 ones.

Anonymous

Well, I would guess that would have those agreements. What’s really annoying me is how Google doesn’t just stop crying and go use those billions of dollars and license some patents and we wouldn’t be in this mess. They need to really sit down with the companies and work something out.
Anonymous

Well, I would guess that would have those agreements. What’s really annoying me is how Google doesn’t just stop crying and go use those billions of dollars and license some patents and we wouldn’t be in this mess. They need to really sit down with the companies and work something out.

Anonymous

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s General Counsel, has shot off the following tweet: “Google says we bought Novell patents to keep them from Google. Really? We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no.”

Frank Shaw, lead corporate communications for Microsoft just tweeted an image of an email between Brad Smith and Kent Walker (Google’s General Counsel) that appears to corroborate the claims that Microsoft wanted to team up with Google.

google is scared shitless
Anonymous

This isn a war among giants. All three huge companies can be guilty of crime against humanity. We as humans always pick the lesser of all evils. Google can not expect to come in to this game and take over decades of know how. The interesting thing is that Google needs patents to protect its future and could not partner up with microsoft if Microsoft is suing most of the oem vendor for android. Apple also. But google left the door open by rushing to flood the market to try to slow Apple and take out Microsoft but the plan has back fired and the wave to transfer everything to the next generation of ‘the cloud’ less needy as there are other alternatives. The good is that because of Google Microsoft has turned course and is headed in a different path and future – one that Google could still be leading us in if they werent so ambitious. Microsoft has all the pieces to be what Google is to be what Apple is all in one. Because in my opinion no one os will dominate in this era it’s important for any os to just stay relevant. Without the proper momentum for IP one company becomes dependent on the other and without in-house IP makes the vision for the future less obvious. The company with the most IP’s like developers hold the cards.

Anonymous

google screwed up in too many areas. this is beyond repair.

Anonymous

Pwned.
http://www.searingarrow.com AlienSix

Can wait for the Google Apologists to say how the email is made up or fabricated

rsgx

Man, those kids are just getting worse and worse.
Anonymous

It has already started at winrumors sadly.

rsgx

LOL, really?

Mus Gaid

This is a pretty interesting articles. Google definitely has to cover up their claim this time since MS already have a proof to ask Google to collaborate in patent bid.

Anyone has link to the image?

Anonymous

look up frank shaws twitter

Anonymous

Unfortunatelly, that link only shows a small, illegible thumbnail of an email. Klicking on it simply reopens the same twitter page. For all I know, that email could read “lol, I am lying!”….

Anonymous

they have a pic.

Anonymous

yeah, i know. But it’s illegible and full of jpeg artifacts. It could also just be a groceries list, I’d love to actually read the email…

http://twitter.com/abhi1manyu Abhimanyu Jamwal

oh!! the famous line from “the mobile OS network” : I can’t wait to stand on your shoulder with you righting a cheque worth billions to each one of us ……microsoft, apple, oracle and around 15 more companies to google and google: judge, dismiss the case….android is open source ……..judge: do you have my complete attenction
Google: No, we are copying

And the famous line in google HQ: roger copy that
http://twitter.com/MaulerX MaulerX

Microsoft crushed Google on this one. Here is the link to the original tweet from Frank Shaw:

https://twitter.com/#!/fxshaw/status/98932077327691776/photo/1

David Drummond might get fired or face serious disciplinary action for putting Google is this PR nightmare. What an embarrassment.
Anonymous

theres no way google can respond to this. might as well apologize and shut up.
Anonymous

Google is such a hypocrite.

“According to Brad Smith, the general counsel of Microsoft, Google refused to
join the group bidding on the Novell patents, instead bidding separately for
the collection of patents in hopes that it could win them all for itself, just
as had earlier done on a portfolio of around 1,000 patents from IBM.

Itwas already public knowledge that Google had placed an initial $900 million bid
for the Novell patents, then upped its bid to more than $3 billion before ultimately losing to the consortium’s $4.5 billion bid.

In a tweet, Smith stated, “Google says we bought Novell patents to keep them from Google. Really? We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no.”

But Google’s chief legal officer David Drummond subsequently took the consortium to task for “escalating the cost of patents way beyond what they’re really worth,” complaining that “Microsoft and Apple’s winning $4.5 billion
for Nortel’s patent portfolio was nearly five times larger than the pre-auction
estimate of $1 billion,” without also noting that Google itself had been involved in raising the ultimate price of the patents far higher than any patent troll could ever pay, after refusing to join the consortium in the first place.

In describing Google’s public denigration of the consortium led by Apple and Microsoft and the company’s depiction of the winning bid as being a concerted effort to attack Android, blogger John Gruber wrote “Google’s hypocrisy here
is absurd,” and added, “Google supporters claim that Google only wants to use patents defensively. But what exactly does Google need to defend against, if not actual patents Android actually violates?”

rsgx

“Google supporters claim that Google only wants to use patents defensively. But what exactly does Google need to defend against, if not actual patents Android actually violates?”

That’s exactly my argument, yet they still continued to disagree with me. What a bunch of tools.

Anonymous

lol. ltcommander, nathan smith, and the other tools on engadget need to be IP banned

Anonymous

Novell and Nortel, 2 different companies

Novell: Microsoft asked Google to join, Google said no. The consortium bought the patents for 450 million

Nortel: Apple and Rockstar Bidco outbid Google and Intel with 4.5billion for the Nortel patents.

Anonymous

At least 90 % of tech sites cannot read while going for the bigger news. Quite amazing psychology, isn’t it?

http://www.about.me/pradeep Pradeep

I really hate Google’s attitude towards IP.
Anonymous

Google got caught attempting to engineer one big hoax on the industry playing the victim card. Asserting potential “material damage” by its competition. As the Geico caveman to David Drummond. “Next time try doing a little research.” lol.
http://twitter.com/Aleis Jayrock

Please. microsoft is making money off google inadvertently. thats why they are doing this. its fine…motorola…in the open handset allliance…holds patent for…THE CELLPHONE!
be ready.
Anonymous

So I guess the blueprint to reach $500+ per share is to simply ignore the laws of the land! I wonder what other laws have they broken…
http://www.facebook.com/simula67 Jogy Antony

Google said even before bidding for Nortel patents that they were bidding to protect themselves from competitors suing them.

‘The only way to protect yourself from these litigations, is ironically to have a huge patent portfolio’

That means Google wanted to own some patents and threaten other companies of counter-suing them if they sued Google. It was probably because Google had only a portfolio of 500 patents that Oracle decided to sue them. If that was the case, Google would be right saying that they did not jointly want to bid for the patents, but outright OWN them. Also Microsoft, RIM, Apple etc could not risk loosing all the patents because they were crucial to all their businesses. As the consortium just bidded the price up which prevented Google getting their hands on patents, Google might have realized patents are available in such profusion, they can buy them from elsewhere. The blog post from Google has been updated with this information.
http://www.facebook.com/simula67 Jogy Antony

Google said even before bidding for Nortel patents that they were bidding to protect themselves from competitors suing them.

‘The only way to protect yourself from these litigations, is ironically to have a huge patent portfolio’

That means Google wanted to own some patents and threaten other companies of counter-suing them if they sued Google. It was probably because Google had only a portfolio of 500 patents that Oracle decided to sue them. If that was the case, Google would be right saying that they did not jointly want to bid for the patents, but outright OWN them. Also Microsoft, RIM, Apple etc could not risk loosing all the patents because they were crucial to all their businesses. As the consortium just bidded the price up which prevented Google getting their hands on patents, Google might have realized patents are available in such profusion, they can buy them from elsewhere. The blog post from Google has been updated with this information.