Google Bids $900 Million for Nortel's 6,000 Networking/Wireless Patents

From DailyTech: Google has recently offered $900 million for Nortel Networks' remaining 6,000 networking and wireless patents.

Nortel Networks is a multinational telecommunication equipment manufacturer from Canada. In January 2009, the company filed for bankruptcy. Since then, Nortel has been selling different areas of the company off in order to restructure its debt. For instance, Genband bought Nortel's VOIP business in February 2010.

Now, Google is looking to purchase the remaining 6,000 networking and wireless patents from Nortel in order to produce a deeper portfolio and to "stave off increasingly rampant patent litigation." Google has mentioned that it is patent poor and could use a broader portfolio to stay competitive.

"One of a company's best defenses against this kind of litigation is to (ironically) have a formidable patent portfolio, as this helps maintain your freedom to develop new products and services," said Kent Walker, Google's senior vice president and general counsel.

As of right now, Google is dealing with a lawsuit from Oracle, which is an open and integrated hardware and software systems company. Oracle claims that Google's Android platform uses Java code illegally, which is covered in its patents. A deeper patent portfolio would have saved Google from this copyright infringement lawsuit.

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