Microsoft and Nokia hit back at Google 'patent troll' claims
Posted in: Mobile & Wireless at 03/06/2012 14:29
The smartphone patent wars have heated up further, with Microsoft and Nokia hitting back at claims by Google that they are feeding mobile patents to a "troll" company that aims to extract billions of pounds of payments from handset makers and so push up prices.
In a regulatory complaint filed on Thursday evening with the European Commission, the US Department of Justice and the US Federal Trade Commission, Google says that the two companies "are colluding to raise the costs of mobile devices for consumers, creating patent trolls that sidestep promises both companies have made. They should be held accountable, and we hope our complaint spurs others to look into these practices."
To continue reading this report in The Guardian, go to:
www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jun/01/microsoft-nokia-google-patent-troll
Also see:
Nokia smacks Google for 'patent troll' charges
Nokia has hit back at Google after the search giant charged Microsoft and Nokia with collusion and using patent trolls to discourage device makers from using Android.
"Though we have not yet seen the complaint, Google's suggestion that Nokia and Microsoft are colluding on intellectual property rights is wrong," Nokia spokesman Mark Durrant told Reuters today. "Both companies have their own intellectual property rights portfolios and strategies and operate independently."
news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57445500-94/nokia-smacks-google-for-patent-troll-charges/
Google to EU: Microsoft is engaging in patent proxy trolling
Google has filed a complaint with European regulators alleging that Microsoft has violated competition laws by waging a proxy patent war against Android. Google hasn't made the complaint available to the press, but a statement from the search giant alleged that "Nokia and Microsoft are colluding to raise the costs of mobile devices for consumers, creating patent trolls that sidestep promises both companies have made."
"They should be held accountable, and we hope our complaint spurs others to look into these practices," the statement said.
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/06/google-to-eu-microsoft-is-engaging-in-patent-proxy-trolling/
