Google Inc. filed an antitrust complaint in Europe on Thursday, May 31, alleging that Microsoft Corp. and Nokia Corp. are using proxy companies to flaunt patents and hurt their smartphone rivals, including Google's Android mobile phone software, while favoring Microsoft technology. Google also intends to share its "patent trolls" concerns with U.S. competition regulators as well.
The Internet search giant argues that Microsoft and Nokia have made agreements enabling entities such as Canadian firm Mosaid Technologies Inc., an intellectual property company dubbed as a "patent troll," to legally enforce their patent rights and share the revenue. The search giant has not been sued by Mosaid nor other related companies, but it said it filed the complaint with European regulators as a pre-emptive measure, seeking to avoid a legal fiasco for Android partners. If phone makers consider that using Android poses a significant legal risk, they may choose Microsoft's Windows Phone software instead.
Broken Promises, Desperate Tactics
"Nokia and Microsoft are colluding to raise the costs of mobile devices for consumers, creating patent trolls that sidestep promises both companies have made," said a Google spokesman, as cited by the Wall Street Journal. "They should be held accountable, and we hope our complaint spurs others to look into these practices."
"Google is complaining about antitrust in the smartphone industry when it controls more than 95 percent of mobile search and advertising," a Microsoft representative told Reuters in an emailed statement. "Google is complaining about patents when it won't respond to growing concerns by regulators, elected officials and judges about its abuse of standard-essential patents," added Microsoft. "This seems like a desperate tactic on their part."
Standards-Essential Patents
Microsoft and Nokia entered a cross-licensing agreement for patents last year, as part of a bigger deal that involves Nokia building devices on Microsoft's Windows Phone software. Later last year, Mosaid acquired an entity called core Wireless, along with its 2,000 patents and patent applications filed by Nokia. Of the 2,000 patents, 1,200 are standard-essential, meaning they fall under fair and reasonable licensing to others, including smartphone rivals, because they are considered crucial for compatibility across the smartphone industry.
Meanwhile, Google alleges that Nokia has colluded with Microsoft and Mosaid, thus betraying its previous commitments to open-source software and to protecting essential technologies from legal threats. Google's Android partners have previously raised concerns about Mosaid as well. Back in October, an attorney for Barnes & Noble, which builds its Nook e-reader on Google's Android, submitted a letter to a U.S. Justice Department alleging that Microsoft's agreement with Mosaid proves "Microsoft's broader plan to shield itself from patent lawsuits while also eliminating competition from Android," notes the WSJ.
Nokia Fights Allegations
Nokia struck back at Google on Friday, June 1, fighting the allegations brought against it. "Though we have not yet seen the complaint, Google's suggestion that Nokia and Microsoft are colluding on intellectual property rights is wrong," said Nokia spokesman Mark Durrant, as cited by Reuters. "Both companies have their own intellectual property rights portfolios and strategies and operate independently."
