Google doubled patent filings in 2013 as battle with Apple intensifies
As a proxy war rages over Android in courtrooms around the world, Apple and Google are racing to stockpile key intellectual property in a bid to stave off a legal extinction event, with Google in particular seeing its patent filings surge last year.
In 2011, the Silicon Valley heavyweights were granted 1,234 patents between them. In 2013, that number more than tripled to 3,826, according to patent data compiled from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Mountain View, Calif.-based Google has been particularly aggressive in its drive to collect intellectual property. The 3,042 patents awarded to the search giant in the last two years represent three quarters of Google's entire war chest of just over 4,000 patents, and patent applications from the company have more than doubled in the last three years.
Apple, meanwhile, has seen its patent assignments increase from 807 in 2011 to 1,953 in 2013. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company --?with a 22-year head start on Google -- also maintains a larger overall arsenal than its rival, with 7,723 patents to its name, some of which cover foundational concepts in personal computing.
Despite the growth, both companies' patent troves still pale in comparison to those of other tech titans. IBM holds more than 82,000 patents, for instance, while South Korean conglomerate Samsung counts more than 60,000 in its own collection.
Patents have become increasingly important in the tech world over the last half-decade as both offensive and defensive weapons. There is perhaps no issue that illustrates their importance better than the ongoing legal battle between Apple and manufacturers of smartphones using Google's Android operating system.
Apple has leveraged its intellectual property cache into repeated legal victories over Samsung --?from whom it won a landmark $1 billion judgement --?and new Google subsidiary Motorola, inventor of the mobile phone and itself holder of bedrock patents surrounding the technology.
In 2011, the Silicon Valley heavyweights were granted 1,234 patents between them. In 2013, that number more than tripled to 3,826, according to patent data compiled from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Mountain View, Calif.-based Google has been particularly aggressive in its drive to collect intellectual property. The 3,042 patents awarded to the search giant in the last two years represent three quarters of Google's entire war chest of just over 4,000 patents, and patent applications from the company have more than doubled in the last three years.
Apple, meanwhile, has seen its patent assignments increase from 807 in 2011 to 1,953 in 2013. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company --?with a 22-year head start on Google -- also maintains a larger overall arsenal than its rival, with 7,723 patents to its name, some of which cover foundational concepts in personal computing.
Despite the growth, both companies' patent troves still pale in comparison to those of other tech titans. IBM holds more than 82,000 patents, for instance, while South Korean conglomerate Samsung counts more than 60,000 in its own collection.
Patents have become increasingly important in the tech world over the last half-decade as both offensive and defensive weapons. There is perhaps no issue that illustrates their importance better than the ongoing legal battle between Apple and manufacturers of smartphones using Google's Android operating system.
Apple has leveraged its intellectual property cache into repeated legal victories over Samsung --?from whom it won a landmark $1 billion judgement --?and new Google subsidiary Motorola, inventor of the mobile phone and itself holder of bedrock patents surrounding the technology.
Comments
But wait ... you can't comment yet! We still have to have this information correctly explained and interpreted by Gatorguy ...
Seriously though ... I'd like to know if amongst Scamsung's trove they have one on ice makers they are not using... our new Scammy fridge has a lousy one!
I wanted to thumb you up, but got this:
But thanks for the warning, I'll simply take the 'or' option:
Needed when in FL! I wouldn't know about Samsung patents, I can hardly see them getting a pat (on the shoulder) for that matter. Besides, they are so tall no one can reach them.
With friends like Sergey Brin and Larry Page Steve Jobs didn't need any enemies.
Good thing that Google's never said anything of the sort then huh?
...and the show is on. Someone's gotta bring tissues to clean up with later tho.
Only innovative thing google's done were page rank and gmail.
Why bother stockpiling patents and just keep stealing IP instead? That has been a pretty successful strategy so far.
Okay, AI, I have just made the personal decision to not click on this kind off article anymore, let alone comment. Just me, of course, but I won’t be drawn in by articles about patents, analyst predictions, Wall Street worries, market share prognostications, and that sort of thing any more. They are no longer worth reading to me. I’ll stick to articles about Apple products and services, software updates, rumors about upcoming products, and the like. I’m done with the “Apple is doomed” click bait stuff. Maybe others will consider doing the same. It’s the only to get rid of this crap and the trolls that live for it.
So.....The Pirates of Google copied and pasted from Apple, Microsoft, Oracle and many MANY more .... now they want to come up with bunch of useless patents to countersue and defend their dumb ass?!!
Search: Google Rips Into Microsoft, Apple, Oracle For “Bogus Patents” And Trying To “Strangle” Android; Google hates patents… but collects 1,800 new patents this year alone; Google Hates Patent Wars; The patent war rumbles on, just don’t go thinking Google is innocent;
When Patent Wars Get Ridiculous: Google Patents ‘Heart-Shaped Hand Gesture’; Google-Motorola: It’s All About the Patents; Hypocrisy, thy name is Google
Lmao you have the same problem with yours? I had to call samsung yesterday cause I used the self cleaning mode on my oven and something blew up, now the oven is locked and I can't get it to turn on.... Thankfully I'm under warranty...
Honestly the customer service isn't bad when calling, but the girl was like "do you have a samsung phone?" And I couldn't help but to respond with "do those blow up too?"
That’s… strange.
Funny that Samsung has so many patents when I can't remember a single product from them ever-- and I mean, of any type, they make so many-- that I thought was innovative.
Only innovative thing google's done were page rank and gmail.
You can have differences with Google. But the company innovates like crazy. They've got many, many applications they have played around with and open sourced without any market what-so-ever. Many of their employees do some research and development without a clear goal. It is an innovative company.
They might data-mine customers, but that's a totally different issue. Let's not ignore reality or it looks like we are being partisan and clueless.
Google just hates patents it didn't get first.
No more 'thumbs up' for you, one day. Huddler has a built in thumbs up Nazi.
The phones just 'blow' period.
Remember: Google doesn't play the patent game, and they didn't pay $12B for Motorola Mobility just to get its patent portfolio. The fact that MM sued Apple was just a joke. Really it was. (Unfortunately for them, the joke was on Google.)
Who you talking about?
It's the thought that counts