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Google speaks out about 'hostile, organized campaign' against Android

As Google grows, so does its list of competitors and enemies.
Written by Rachel King, Contributor

Google's Android operating system has risen to become one of the top mobile platforms in the world and the current leader in the United States.

Naturally, this is sure to infuriate Google's competitors. Because of Android's success, David Drummond, senior vice president and chief legal officer at Google, wrote on Google's official blog that this has led to a "hostile, organized campaign against Android by Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents."

Google's Android platform faces legal threats on a number of fronts at the moment, ranging from disputes with Oracle about patent infringement over Java to several manufacturers (namely Samsung and HTC) that have developed mobile devices (i.e. smartphones and tablets) based on Android to be engaged in multiple lawsuits with Apple.

But Drummond points specifically towards another recent bidding war, among other debacles:

They’re doing this by banding together to acquire Novell’s old patents (the “CPTN” group including Microsoft and Apple) and Nortel’s old patents (the “Rockstar” group including Microsoft and Apple), to make sure Google didn’t get them; seeking $15 licensing fees for every Android device; attempting to make it more expensive for phone manufacturers to license Android (which we provide free of charge) than Windows Mobile; and even suing Barnes & Noble, HTC, Motorola, and Samsung. Patents were meant to encourage innovation, but lately they are being used as a weapon to stop it.

There is no denying that things are becoming much more heated among the top dogs in tech, especially in relation to Android.

However, at a certain point, when everyone has a problem with someone, isn't that someone to blame to some extent? So is Google in the right here, or does it look like the Goog is buckling under pressure?

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