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Google Inc. (GOOG-Q557.23-6.54-1.16%) is writing the biggest cheque in company history to save its Android operating system from a slow, litigious death.The Web search giant, which earlier this summer lost a high-stakes battle for Nortel’s 6,000-patent portfolio to rivals Apple, Microsoft and Research In Motion, will purchase handset manufacturer Motorola Mobility for $12.5-billion (U.S.). The acquisition target’s primary asset? An arsenal of 17,000 existing and 7,500 pending patents. “It’s a huge deal,” said technology and intellectual property lawyer Arshia Tabrizi. “Everyone thought Google was dead in the water after their Nortel bid fell through. But it turns out they had a very nice plan B.”Google’s big bet appears to be one of necessity. The company’s Android operating system, which powers 150 million mobile devices from almost 40 different manufacturers, is the subject of hundreds of patent infringement cases worldwide. Increasingly, those cases aren’t going Google’s way, raising the prospect that the company’s most successful product since its core search engine may be wiped out from many, if not all, major markets. Last week, Apple persuaded a German court to ban new shipments of Samsung’s Android-powered Galaxy tablet throughout much of the continent, potentially crippling future sales. Apple alone is involved in dozens of similar cases against HTC and Motorola, the vast majority being Android-related patent infringement claims. Microsoft is also involved in legal action against Android device-makers. Additionally, Google and Oracle are locked in a court case of their own. All those claims are seen as proxy legal challenges against Google itself.For years, Google has chosen to protect its innovations using trade secrets rather than patents. But in the past couple of years, companies have decided to lean heavily on legal action in such cases, where Google’s trade secrets are far less effective because infringement in those cases requires that the offending company willingly obtain and copy the trade secret. Patents, on the other hand, can be infringed upon even if the offending company develops the same technology without ever having heard of the patented innovation.With Motorola Mobility’s patent chest ? which includes many key pieces of intellectual property dating back almost 80 years ? Google now has a means of settling at least some of the cases against Android by offering to license some of its own patents.“This is by and large a defensive play,” Mr. Tabrizi said. “Now Google can look at cross-licensing, so when Apple comes after them they can say, ‘Well, you’re infringing on this, this and this.’ ” The extent of Google’s concern about its patent vulnerability is readily apparent. In a note announcing the proposed Motorola Mobility acquisition, Google CEO Larry Page accused rivals such as Microsoft and Apple of “banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android.“Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.”Last month, after losing the Nortel auction, Google quietly bought a suite of more than 1,000 patents from IBM. Although the price tag was not disclosed, it is likely that, between the IBM deal, the Nortel auction and the Motorola Mobility acquisition, three of the biggest deals in the technology world this year have revolved around the transfer of lawsuit bargaining chips.Indeed, for weeks investors had speculated that Google would next make a run at patent-holding firm InterDigital, according to Frost & Sullivan analyst Ronald Gruia. Following today’s acquisition news, however, InterDigital shares plummeted more than 14 per cent on the Nasdaq.RIM shares, on the other hand, jumped nearly 10 per cent on Monday, closing at $26.59 (Canadian) on the Toronto Stock Exchange, at least partially as a result of speculation that the Motorola Mobility purchase may push Microsoft to make an acquisition of its own.“Whenever something like this happens,” Mr. Gruia said, “it makes you think, ‘Okay, who’s next?’ ”
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看贴你愉快，回贴你精彩回复: 雅思阅读：Google’s Motorola deal ‘by and large a defensive play’ in patent wars谷歌CEO发表收购摩托罗拉全文（中英） 谷歌收购摩托罗拉：收购为巩固Android地位Supercharging Android: Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility相关报道：据国外媒体报道，谷歌和摩托罗拉移动今天宣布，两家公司已经达成一致协议，谷歌将以每股40美元现金的价格收购摩托罗拉移动。这笔交易的总价值达到约 125亿美元，按照上周五的收盘价计算，该收购价比摩托罗拉移动的股价溢价63%。这笔交易已经分别获得谷歌和摩托罗拉移动董事会的一致通过。Since its launch in November 2007, Android has not only dramatically increased consumer choice but also improved the entire mobile experience for users. Today, more than 150 million Android devices have been activated worldwidewith over 550,000 devices now lit up every daythrough a network of about 39 manufacturers and 231 carriers in 123 countries. Given Android’s phenomenal success, we are always looking for new ways to supercharge the Android ecosystem. That is why I am so excited today to announce that we have agreed toacquire Motorola.Motorola has a history of over 80 years of innovation in communications technology and products, and in the development of intellectual property, which have helped drive the remarkable revolution in mobile computing we are all enjoying today. Its many industry milestones include the introduction of the world’s first portable cell phone nearly 30 years ago, and the StarTACthe smallest and lightest phone on earth at time of launch. In 2007, Motorola was a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance that worked to make Android the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. I have loved my Motorola phones from the StarTAC era up to the current DROIDs.In 2008, Motorola bet big on Android as the sole operating system across all of its smartphone devices. It was a smart bet and we’re thrilled at the success they’ve achieved so far. We believe that their mobile business is on an upward trajectory and poised for explosive growth.
谷歌新任CEO拉里佩奇Motorola is also a market leader in the home devices and video solutions business. With the transition to Internet Protocol, we are excited to work together with Motorola and the industry to support our partners and cooperate with them to accelerate innovation in this space.Motorola’s total commitment to Android in mobile devices is one of many reasons that there is a natural fit between our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers everywhere.This acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform. Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. We will run Motorola as a separate business. Many hardware partners have contributed to Android’s success and we look forward to continuing to work with all of them to deliver outstanding user experiences.We recently explained how companies including Microsoft and Apple are banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android. The U.S. Department of Justice had to intervene in the results of one recent patent auction to “protect competition and innovation in the open source software community” and it is currently looking into the results of the Nortel auction. Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.The combination of Google and Motorola will not only supercharge Android, but will also enhance competition and offer consumers accelerating innovation, greater choice, and wonderful user experiences. I am confident that these great experiences will create huge value for shareholders.I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.Posted by Larry Page, CEO
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