Google's Moto bid: It's all about the patents

Rick Merritt, EETimes
8/15/2011 1:48 PM EDT

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Google's $12.5 billion bid for Motorola Mobility is all about the patents. The only people really happy about Google acquiring a smartphone and set-top business are Android's competitors.

By merging Motorola's 17,000 issued patents with its own, the Internet giant hopes to create a legal shield that protects the Android ecosystem from death by a thousand patent suits. Indeed, the legal threats against Google and its mobile partners have been growing as fast as Android's market share.

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