When Canadian telecom Nortel went bankrupt in 2009, there was a bidding war between Google and a consortium called Rockstar Bidco for more than 6,000 Nortel patents. Rockstar, which is owned by Microsoft, Apple, RIM, Ericsson, and Sony, won the auction for $4.5 billion.
This afternoon, Rockstar filed suit against Google for patent infringement. You can read the complaint here.
From the complaint:
On August 1, 2000, United States Patent No. 6,098,065 (the “‘065 patent”) was duly and legally issued for an invention entitled “Associative Search Engine.” Rockstar is the assignee of the ‘065 patent and has granted an exclusive license to NetStar, who holds all rights and interest in the ‘065 patent. A true and correct copy of the ‘065 patent is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
Google has infringed and continues to infringe the ‘065 patent by its manufacture, use, sale, importation, and/or offer for sale of systems, methods, products, and processes for matching search terms with relevant advertising and/or information based on those search terms and other user data, including but not limited to Google’s process of receiving search requests
from a user, using its search engine to generate search results based at least in part on the search request, selecting—through Google’s AdWords and/or any other products, methods, systems, or services Google uses to store and choose relevant advertising—a relevant advertisement based on the search request and/or user data, and providing the search results together with the particular advertisement to the user; and additionally Google’s systems, methods, products, and processes of using other user data aside from the search request to help select the search result and/or advertisement; and additionally and alternatively its contributing to and inducement of others to manufacture, use, sell, import, and/or offer for sale infringing systems, methods, products, and processes in the manners described above. Google is liable for its infringement of the ‘065 patent pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 271.
This is going to get messy.
Remember, Google was originally offered to join the “Rockstar” consortium so all these companies could share the Nortel patents. But instead Google decided to bid against Rockstar so they could keep the patents all to themselves as more ammo to sue their competitors. They lost and now they’re getting sued with the very patents they wanted to use against the rest of the industry.
Karma’s a bitch, huh Google?
Patient troll
This should outright be considered a patent troll move and seen as weak as it is when others do it. Utterly stupid and I hope it gets thrown out!
They can’t win straight up so they are ganging up. Weaksauce!
Google has repeatedly stated they are not on the attack and have proven it. Before you point to Moto, that began before Google bought them and Google itself has not pushed for any suits directly even though companies are infringing.
It isn’t their M.O. like others.
Remember times, when everyone was going against Microsoft? Well, now it’s time to go agains Google. Who is going to be next?
Mostly true, but not completely: http://www.fosspatents.com/2013/02/google-files-first-patent-infringement.html
“…to hit back at BT”
^ makes my point for me. Thx.
You don’t know what the term “patent troll” really means, do you? Apple, Microsoft, even Blackberry all have products in the marketplace. They’re not just asserting acquired patents they have nothing to do with in the hopes of a big payday.
Beyond that, it’s a pretty smart move to make sure no one has a patent on the basic process your company is built upon. Barring that, if that patent does exist, when it comes up for sale, you might want to do something OTHER than make frivolous bids based on numbers you find amusing.
Everyone knows the patent system is broken when it comes to software, but allegedly they have some pretty big brains down in Mountain View. If they couldn’t see the strategic import of the Nortel patents, and act accordingly, it’s their own fault. It looks like Apple, Microsoft, Blackberry, et al sure did. SRSLY, if Blackberry sees the business case for doing something, EVERYONE should!
If Rockstar gets any traction against Google, we’re going to see an IP Cold War. Companies will align with consortia that inter-license technology into something like NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Smaller guys will group with the bigger, deeper pockets of the “Superpowers” Apple and Google. The bedfellows that could result would make politics look downright puritanical.
Patent trolls don’t make things.
I’m willing to believe the defense idea, but then why didn’t they join the consortium? That would have given them even greater protection than going it alone (and potentially being outbid and at risk, which is exactly what has happened).
At best, it was an incredibly stupid move on their part.
I didn’t say the companies behind Rockstar are patent trolls but Rockstar’s move is the same as one. Re-read my comment.
They saw the need/use. That’s why they bid.
No clue. I don’t recall if it was stated then or not but my recollection is that wasn’t an option. The others conspired to buy the patents and didn’t ask Google to join.
Do you have info to the opposite?
Apple has a search engine? And Bing was only made after they bought Nortel? If the patent on search was so awesome, why didn’t Nortel extract tribute from Google instead of being sold for parts?
Sad to see Apple stoop to this level. Maybe even sadder to see fellow Mac users defending this pathetic behavior.