Yesterday the Gadget Helpline covered the war of words which spilt out onto blog and Twitter after Google’s Legal Chief David Drummond launch a bitter tirade on the company’s press page accusing Apple and Microsoft of uniting to buy 6000 patents from defunct co. Nortel in a “hostile, organized campaign” to damage business where it relates to the Android platform. Microsoft representatives then hit back via Twitter, claiming Google were offered to join, but declined – even providing picture evidence of emails exchanged.
Read the full article HERE for all the quotes and to get up to speed, for those following the story – Read on..
Mr. Drummond has now revised his initial statement on the Official Google Blog to refer to Microsoft’s actions as a “false gotcha” – claiming that the proposed allegiance would have “eliminated any protection these patents could offer to Android against attacks from Microsoft and its bidding partners.”
Reaffirming the Apple/Microsoft union is intent on wounding Android the Google’s Legal VP brings up licensing issues, and involvement by the Justice Department further amending his statement to read that “[Google’s] competitors are waging a patent war on Android and working together to keep us from getting patents that would help balance the scales.”
Of course these words don’t come without retaliation and Microsoft has hit back, once again via Twitter accounts, this time claiming that Google’s decline of the tag-team patent purchase was down to them wanting the former Nortel tech patents to themselves. Where it seems Microsoft had some very powerful friends waiting in the wings, namely the tech super-powers known as RIM and Apple. We’re yet to hear from either on this heated situation.
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