Android vendors have been hit hard by lawsuit after lawsuit from competitors. But in a show of strength, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt said today in Taiwan that his company will stand by those firms in any lawsuit.
“We tell our partners, including the ones here in Taiwan, we will support them,” Schmidt told reporters today, according to Reuters. “For example, we have been supporting HTC in its dispute with Apple because we think that the Apple thing is not correct.”
HTC’s troubles with Apple started last year when the iPhone maker filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, arguing HTC’s device violates 20 of its patents.
“We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” Apple co-founder Steve Jobs said in a statement at the time. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”
In response, HTC fired back with several lawsuits of its own against Apple, arguing that the iPhone violated patents it held. In September, HTC upped the ante a bit by suing Apple using patents it received from Google.
Although Schmidt argues that his company has stood by Android vendors, HTC’s lawsuit using Google patents was arguably the first major step the search giant took to help its partners. Previously, Google had taken a backseat to the lawsuits, possibly for fear of getting embroiled in a head-to-head court battle with Apple. That fear was stripped away earlier this year, however, after Google announced plans to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. The deal is designed to provide Google with the patent protection the compa
via Google vows to support Android vendors in lawsuits | The Digital Home – CNET News.
