You Know you Need to Reform Patent Law when…
Google just bought Motorola mobility for 12+ BILLION dollars. It would appear that they purchased the company not because there is significant synchronization and economies of scale, not because it was the right thing to do, but instead because of significant patent warchests that would allow Google to defend itself in court:
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 - Larry Page
This is (excuse the pun) patently ridiculous. It’s not good for the economy, not good for innovation, and certainly doesn’t set a good precedent for up and coming firms that are looking to innovate. It’s tough to pay an army of lawyers when you’re just trying to keep the lights on and get VC backing.
As always, it will be interesting to see how this plays out in court, and what its impact on the mobile marketplace will be in the medium term.
Congress: please take a shot at reform - well, OK maybe after you reform yourselves.
CNET: Google Just Bought Itself Patent Protection
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