Summary: The patent consortium that picked up Nortel's patent portfolio in 2011 has filed a suit against Android-aligned manufacturers Google, Samsung, HTC, Huawei, Asus, LG, and ZTE.
The Rockstar patent consortium, jointly owned by Apple, Microsoft, BlackBerry, Ericsson, Sony, and EMC, has filed suit in the US District Court in Texas against Google, Samsung, HTC, and Huawei for infringing patents related to matching search terms with advertising.
Reuters has reported that Google is accused of wilfully infringing on seven patents, following an unsuccessful bid for the patents in 2011.
"Despite losing in its attempt to acquire the patents-in-suit at auction, Google has infringed and continues to infringe," the filing said.
Google accused Microsoft and Apple of anti-competitive behaviour in the creation of Rockstar after it was beaten out by the consortium to purchase ownership of the patents from the bankrupted Nortel in 2011.
"This anti-competitive strategy is also escalating the cost of patents way beyond what they're really worth. The winning $4.5 billion for Nortel's patent portfolio was nearly five times larger than the pre-auction estimate of $1 billion," Google's chief legal officer, David Drummond, wrote at the time.
Apple contributed $2.6 billion to the group, making it the majority financial backer behind Rockstar.
Asus, LG, Pantech, and ZTE are the other companies to be sued, along with Google, Samsung, HTC, and Huawei, TechCrunch has reported.
The Rockstar patent consortium, jointly owned by Apple, Microsoft, BlackBerry, Ericsson, Sony, and EMC, has filed suit in the US District Court in Texas against Google, Samsung, HTC, and Huawei for infringing patents related to matching search terms with advertising.
Reuters has reported that Google is accused of wilfully infringing on seven patents, following an unsuccessful bid for the patents in 2011.
"Despite losing in its attempt to acquire the patents-in-suit at auction, Google has infringed and continues to infringe," the filing said.
Google accused Microsoft and Apple of anti-competitive behaviour in the creation of Rockstar after it was beaten out by the consortium to purchase ownership of the patents from the bankrupted Nortel in 2011.
"This anti-competitive strategy is also escalating the cost of patents way beyond what they're really worth. The winning $4.5 billion for Nortel's patent portfolio was nearly five times larger than the pre-auction estimate of $1 billion," Google's chief legal officer, David Drummond, wrote at the time.
Apple contributed $2.6 billion to the group, making it the majority financial backer behind Rockstar.
Asus, LG, Pantech, and ZTE are the other companies to be sued, along with Google, Samsung, HTC, and Huawei, TechCrunch has reported.