Google Complains Of Organized Campaign Against Android

By John Letzing 
   Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--Google Inc. (GOOG) accused rivals Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Apple Inc. (AAPL) of waging an "organized, hostile campaign" against the Internet search giant's Android mobile phone software, using questionable patents.

"They want to make it harder for manufacturers to sell Android devices," Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond wrote on a company website. "Instead of competing by building new features or devices, they are fighting through litigation."

The campaign against Android is being waged "through bogus patents," Drummond wrote, adding that "Microsoft and Apple have always been at each other's throats, so when they get into bed together you have to start wondering what's going on."

Oracle has sued Google directly, alleging that Android infringes on intellectual property related to Oracle's Java software. Microsoft and Apple have filed suit against mobile phone makers and others that use Android in their devices.

In addition to litigation, Google said Microsoft and Apple have combined forces to acquire patents once owned by business-software firm Novell and bankrupt Canadian telecom firm Nortel Networks Corp. (NRTLQ), "to make sure Google didn't get them."

A consortium that included Microsoft and Apple recently paid $4.5 billion for patents auctioned by Nortel, an amount that Google notes was "five times larger than the pre-auction estimate of $1 billion."

Representatives from Microsoft and Apple declined to comment. An Oracle spokeswoman declined to comment.

Android, which has become increasingly popular among device makers and users since it was unveiled in 2007, is developed on an open-source model that utilizes outside engineering contributions.

Google's Drummond wrote that more than 550,000 Android devices are activated daily.

Drummond wrote that the Mountain View, Calif.-based company is "looking intensely" at ways to stop "those who are trying to strangle" Android.

For example, Drummond wrote, Google is seeking to bolster its own patent portfolio.

Google is also "encouraged" that the U.S. Department of Justice is looking into whether or not Microsoft and Apple bought the Nortel patents "for anti-competitive means," Drummond wrote.

Shares of Google closed up 1.5% at $601.17.

-By John Letzing, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230; john.letzing@dowjones.com