Inside look at $4.5B Nortel patent auction reveals battle of wills between Apple, Google

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  • Reply 61 of 303
    galbigalbi Posts: 968member
    I guess Apple does see Android as a threat.



    This just confirms it that Apple was using desperate measures to stop Android from gaining a foothold by sueing its biggest hardware proponent, Samsung.
  • Reply 62 of 303
    bunnyturdbunnyturd Posts: 32member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Meanwhile, Microsoft and Sony reportedly each put up $1 billion. Finally, storage maker EMC brokered a side deal for about $400 million that grants the company sole ownership of a subset of the patents.







    Actually Microsoft and Sony are paying a combined total of $1 billion. Not $1 billion each.
  • Reply 63 of 303
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Galbi View Post


    I guess Apple does see Android as a threat.



    This just confirms it that Apple was using desperate measures to stop Android from gaining a foothold by sueing its biggest hardware proponent, Samsung.





    Or maybe Apple were just concerned that Google would try underhanded tactics with thse patents? Did you not notice that Sony & Ericsson are both in the consortium? Does S-E not make android phones? Do you think EMC are out to drive Google from the handset market?
  • Reply 64 of 303
    mcarlingmcarling Posts: 1,106member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TBell View Post


    Yes, but there are different patents for accomplishing the same task, although differently.



    That would necessarily require changing the product. I don't think Steve would ever compromise on the product just to evade patent rights.
  • Reply 65 of 303
    island hermitisland hermit Posts: 6,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Galbi View Post


    I guess Apple does see Android as a threat.



    This just confirms it that Apple was using desperate measures to stop Android from gaining a foothold by sueing its biggest hardware proponent, Samsung.



    Of course Apple sees Google as a threat... probably in more ways than one.



    You have to remember, though, that the original consortium, Microsoft, RIM, Sony, Ericsson and EMC, was sans Apple and has much more to lose than Apple... recent studies have shown that some of those companies are losing market share to Android but Apple is not. Ericsson then went to Apple asking Apple to become a partner... Apple must have seen an opportunity to save some cash while it crushed Google's bid.



    So the question now is... how serious is Google about Android?



    [ on edit: where was Motorola in all of this? ]
  • Reply 66 of 303
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AndroidInsider View Post


    Correct me if I'm wrong, but even if Apple owned all LTE patents because of this purchase, couldn't Google or Samsung or whomever just license the technology through Microsoft or one of the other "partners"? The patents are more than likely just for defense.



    The key fact is that Apple has outright and clear ownership of the patents. The others in the consortium paid to have rights to use. They do not have rights to grant.
  • Reply 67 of 303
    applesauce007applesauce007 Posts: 1,698member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Galbi View Post


    I guess Apple does see Android as a threat.



    This just confirms it that Apple was using desperate measures to stop Android from gaining a foothold by sueing its biggest hardware proponent, Samsung.



    Not at all dude.



    Apple is already making all the money in the smart phone market. Google's interest in Android is advertising and Google is already doing advertising on the iPhone as well. Google is actually eating Microsoft's lunch the way they license Android and thereby helping Apple, although Microsoft is already making more money on Android than WP7 from licensing fees from the Android handset makers.



    Apple is suing Samsung and HTC and Motorola because they violate its patents with their custom UIs. Note that Android has changed their UIs significantly but Samsung insist on copying the iPhone UI and hardware designs for their handsets.



    Google shot themselves in the foot when they built Android and violated patents and copyrights from Oracle and Microsoft and others. This is coming back to hunt them.



    You see, by violating Oracle's Java patents and Copyrights, Google is putting the whole company at risk just for Android. Larry Ellison going after them very hard, and when all is said and done, Android handset makers still have to pay royalties to Microsoft.



    Time will tell.
  • Reply 68 of 303
    island hermitisland hermit Posts: 6,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleSauce007 View Post


    This is coming back to hunt them.



    Hunt and haunt them...
  • Reply 69 of 303
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member
    deleted
  • Reply 70 of 303
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleSauce007 View Post


    Google's interest in Android is advertising and Google is already doing advertising on the iPhone as well.



    Google has to pay an unknown amount for the privilege of staying the default search on the iPhone, and at some future point Apple could conceivably switch iOS to use Bing. It's completely understandable why Google wants control of the mobile platform, since it knows it will never have control over the desktop space.



    Google is an odd company, too us mortals it can seem terrifyingly powerful but I think its self-perception is still that it is vulnerable. It's scared that one day MS will get Bing to the point where it really competes and find a way to use the Windows/IE monopoly to crush Google search. It's worried that Facebook will use its incredible number of eyeballs to muscle in on Google's advertising. That fear is why it acts with such determination to control new markets like mobile, to contest old markets like desktop and web browsers and to keep trying to crack social networking.
  • Reply 71 of 303
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleSauce007 View Post


    Google shot themselves in the foot when they built Android and violated patents and copyrights from Oracle and Microsoft and others. This is coming back to hunt them.



    You see, by violating Oracle's Java patents and Copyrights, Google is putting the whole company at risk just for Android. Larry Ellison going after them very hard, and when all is said and done, Android handset makers still have to pay royalties to Microsoft.



    Time will tell.



    I think you meant to say Oracle and Microsoft claim some patent infringements. That's far different than making it a fact.
  • Reply 72 of 303
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacRulez View Post


    AppleInsider wrote:



    No - Cringely wrote, AI quoted. Is that so very hard to understand? Cringely being the guy who's totally incorrect back of the envelope calculations lead him to state that the Apple NC datacentre was in fact a Potemkin village.
  • Reply 73 of 303
    applesauce007applesauce007 Posts: 1,698member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post


    I think you meant to say Oracle and Microsoft claim some patent infringements. That's far different than making it a fact.



    Yes. You are correct. It is not a fact... yet...



    Time will tell.
  • Reply 74 of 303
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post


    I think you meant to say Oracle and Microsoft claim some patent infringements. That's far different than making it a fact.



    Well at least 3 Android makers are currently paying MS royalties including one big one, so at this point I'd say that ship has sailed. If Google were sure of their situation they could have tried to insert themselves into the HTC suit, but they didn't.



    Oracle is still a much more open question though.
  • Reply 75 of 303
    stelligentstelligent Posts: 2,680member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleSauce007 View Post


    Not at all dude.



    Google is actually eating Microsoft's lunch the way they license Android and thereby helping Apple,



    Google is eating Microsoft's lunch. Hmmm ... that would be true if all handset makers stopped delivering Windows phones in favor of Android. But that's not what happened, is it? Microsoft stopped feeding itself by falling behind in its Windows Phone 7 development. And then, when it came out, it was behind in features. What OS did the like of Samsung and HTC have to turn to in 2008 and 2009, if Android wasn't around? All to say, history is clear on Google not eating anyone's lunch per se, even if their releases are named Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, etc.



    What would have happened if WP7 came out at the same time as Android, and with a full feature set? That would have been interesting. Then we could talk lunch.



    Given the state of affairs now, MSFT might have missed out quite a bit and time will tell if they can recover the lost market. But the loss is theirs to own.
  • Reply 76 of 303
    stelligentstelligent Posts: 2,680member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleSauce007 View Post


    Yes. You are correct. It is not a fact... yet...



    Time will tell.



    Oh, it is a fact already. At least the MSFT part. In a patent infringement fight, if the alleged infringer agrees to settle, infringement is fact. Since HTC agreed to settle over a year ago, MSFT has claimed de facto victory.



    What is not fact is the $5. This is strictly a guess on the part of one analyst, which has spread virally around the internet. Funny how we mock analysts and their inaccurate predictions on some things but trip over ourselves using their other claims as fact when there is no other data available.



    To sum up, it is a fact MSFT will make a tidy sum from Android licenses. But any estimate on how much is NOT a fact. In fact, whatever it is, it is more a moral victory for MSFT than financial.
  • Reply 77 of 303
    stelligentstelligent Posts: 2,680member
    This is more than just Apple vs. Google. This is akin to a two-way player in sports - offense and defense. You don't do it just to beat one team. You do it to become a better team overall. You also do it to prevent that player to fall into someone else's hands. Apple does not have enough IT on real telecom technology. They had to catch up. If it happens to spite and stifle Google, cool. But they would have done it regardless.



    The analysis shouldn't about why they did this. It's smart business. Clearly, every other company thought likewise. It would have been more interesting if they didn't try, for that would have been business suicide.
  • Reply 78 of 303
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stelligent View Post


    Oh, it is a fact already. At least the MSFT part. In a patent infringement fight, if the alleged infringer agrees to settle, infringement is fact. Since HTC agreed to settle over a year ago, MSFT has claimed de facto victory.



    I don't think it's quite that strong, but I do agree that it raises the bar for anybody trying to invalidate the patent or to claim non infringement in a similar case.
  • Reply 79 of 303
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member
    deleted
  • Reply 80 of 303
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    Ah, you young whippersnapper... There was a time when the Internet was *not* used to "poke" or "friend" people. You met and hung out with real friends in flesh and bone, and the Internet was used to look up information*, not to go virtual farming or what not.



    There was a time when a "cell phone" meant that you could be reached in emergencies, it was not a device for your girlfriend/boyfriend to sext you 30 times a day.



    Bottom line, this Nortel owns a lot of patents for a lot of what we do today in the mobile and Internet world we take for granted. And a lot of patents for a lot of what is to come.



    *Yes, including porn, it saved many a teen from embarassing trips from the magazine rack to the cashier even from its early days.



    Ha. Next you're going to tell me that there was music on MTV. Thanks, though. This actually makes a lot more sense in the morning
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