Google Complaint to Microsoft and Nokia to Join their Patents
The internet giant Google has denounced Microsoft and Nokia to the European Commission (EC) and the U.S. competition regulator to consider the concentration of its patents detrimental to free competition in the mobile phone industry and consumers.
“Nokia and Microsoft are conspiring to increase the price of consumers’ mobile devices, creating ‘trolls’ patent that ignore the promises that the companies have done,” he said in a statement today Google spokesman in Brussels, Al Verney.
The term “patent troll” refers disparagingly to the strategy of accumulating patents in order to gain some economic benefit, without necessarily having the intention to create products with them.
According to Google, the two companies “should be held accountable” for the practice.
“We hope our report will encourage other to investigate these practices,” he said Verney.
Community spokesman Competition Colombiani Antoine, told that they “have received this complaint and we will examine it,” he said, without elaborating.
As pointed out by Google, Nokia and Microsoft have joined forces to acquire patents and transfer them to the Canadian company Mosaid Technologies Incorporated, specializing in patent licensing agreements in the field of information technology and communication.
Nokia, the world’s largest maker of mobile phones, announced in February 2011 a “comprehensive strategic partnership” with Microsoft to incorporate into their devices the Windows operating system to compete with the iPhone OS from Apple Android and Google.
In September 2011, Nokia transferred more than 2,000 patents to Mosaid, a company “lapsed”, accumulating patents but not developed.
Thus, Google considered opportunistic management by Microsoft and Nokia in a large number of patents, which, in his view, have no intention to market for their own benefit.
Sources said Google has “clear evidence” that this practice “competing harms” and hurts the mobile phone users.
They noted that the complaint is a “global issue”, so Google decided yesterday to report their suspicions to the U.S. regulatory authorities and the European Commission, in compliance with the formal procedure required, they said.
Meanwhile, a Microsoft spokesman in Brussels said in a statement that Google “patent complains when not to respond to growing concerns of regulators, elected officials and judges on the abuse of patents essential standard.”
“Report problems on competition in the smartphone industry when controlling over 95% of mobile search and advertising. This seems desperate to practice their part,” Microsoft said.
Category: Business News
