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I think the idea was to keep a defensive portfolio of patents so Google could threaten to countersue Apple or Microsoft if they ever went after an Android OEM.

by abhi3 9y ago

I think the idea was to keep a defensive portfolio of patents so Google could threaten to countersue Apple or Microsoft if they ever went after an Android OEM. Kind of like a Tech company version of a nuclear deterrent.

dhd415 9y ago
Yes, although everything that I've read suggests that Motorola's patent portfolio was light on anything related to smartphones so it provides little in the way of a litigation deterrent for competitors of Google or Android OEMs.
- refulgentis 9y ago
  That argument seems shallow, though, you could use it to say was incredibly effective - Android OEMs didn't get sued after that!