When Google ponied up $12.5 billion to swallow Motorola Mobility, many people thought it was to snare some patents to protect Android from the likes of Apple and Microsoft. But according to a patent expert, all Google got were some “crap patents”.
https://gizmodo.com/google-is-buying-motorola-5830842
David Martin, the founder and chairman of patent consulting firm M-Cam, says that spending $12.5 billion on Motorola Mobility was “an immense mistake” because Motorola had sold off a lot of its good patents years before. According to Martin, all Google did was paint an immense target on their back.
Google snagged 17,000 patents in the Motorola acquisition (18 of ’em were supposedly very important in protecting Android) but if they didn’t do their homework, like Martin claims, they just pissed off Android manufacturers (like Samsung and HTC) for no reason. I think, or hope, Google has a better understanding of patents than that. We’ll see what happens as this Cold War of Patents continues. [Bloomberg via WinSuperSite]
