Sunday 25 December 2011

BT launches patent case against Google

UK telecommunications giant BT is apparently the latest company to file a patent-related lawsuit against Google, as the legal wranglings of the mobile world continue to shovel money into the pockets of lawyers.

FoSS patents reports that BT has called Google to task over six of its patents, with the legal documentation making sure to mention its roots as the oldest telecommunications company in the world and the mass of patents it holds.

BT has accused Google of infringing on a range of different patents – including 'service provision for communications network', 'navigation information system', 'telecommunications apparatus and method' and 'storage and retrieval of location based information in a distributed network of data storage devices.

Derived profit

"Google has derived and will continue to derive substantial value from these products and services that incorporate BT's patented technologies," adds the documentation.

"BT brings this action to recover the just compensation it is owed and to prevent Google from continuing to benefit from BT's inventions without authorisation."

One thing that BT could hardly be described as is a patent troll – as a company with a huge heritage in innovation stretching back to its incorporation in 1846 as the Electric Telegraph Company.

BT also points to the heavy investments it has made in the last twenty years in mobility and related network tech, which "BT recognised early on would revolutionise the way people communicate".

"Extensive work in this field throughout the 1990s has led to numerous patents in the field of mobility including the patents in-suit," adds BT's claim.

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