This article is more than 1 year old

Google crams arsenal with 1,000 IBM patents

Readies ream team against, er, Microsoft-Apple axis

Google has added to its ammo dump in the patent hostilities, buying over a thousand more of IBM's patents.

The search engine behemoth bought 1,023 patents from IBM in August, according to records filed at the US Patent and Trademark Office's website, and originally reported on the SEO by the Sea blog.

IBM declined to comment on the sale to The Reg and Google had not responded to request for comment at time of publication.

This batch of patents adds to the 1,030 Google already snagged from IBM and the 17,000 or so the company will get from Motorola Mobility to make a tidy little arsenal in Google's fightback against the "hostile, organised campaign against Android by Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and other companies" described by David Drummond, senior VP and chief legal officer, on the Google blog in early August.

"We're looking at other ways to reduce the anti-competitive threats against Android by strengthening our own patent portfolio," he said at the time, and it seems as if the Chocolate Factory really meant it.

Google hasn't been stingy with its weapons in the patent battles either, handing over nine of them to HTC last week so it could file a suit against Apple and combat a few of the suits Apple has already lodged against it. ®

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like