Home › News ›

Google Found Guilty in Android / Linux Patent Case

Apr 22, 2011, 11:32 AM by Eric M. Zeman
updated Apr 22, 2011, 11:34 AM

Google has been found guilty of patent infringement by a jury in Texas over use of the Linux kernel in its servers and Android smartphones. A firm called Bedrock Computer Technologies file the lawsuit, and won a $5 million fine from Google. Aside from the fine, the implications for Android down the line aren't clear. "The implication here is really that there is a huge number of Linux users who will be required to pay royalties if this patent holder knocks on their doors in the US. This is definitely a major impediment to the growth of Linux and makes companies, including Google, that rely on open source code particularly vulnerable to patent threats,"said intellectual property activist Florian Mueller to the BBC News. Google, however, defended itself and said it will continue to do so as patent claims arise. In a statement, it said, "The recent explosion in patent litigation is turning the world's information highway into a toll road, forcing companies to spend millions and millions of dollars defending old, questionable patent claims and wasting resources that would be much better spent investing in new technologies for users and creating jobs."

Mobile Burn »

Related

Samsung Refreshes Galaxy S Series with S Pen, New Cameras

Feb 9, 2022
Samsung today announced its lineup of flagship phones for 2022: the Galaxy S22 series. The top-end S22 Ultra sees the biggest changes as it essentially absorbs Samsung's Note series with an integrated S Pen stylus and a more Note-like shape and design, instead of the Contour Cut design of the other models.

Apple Watch Goes Ultra

Sep 7, 2022
Apple has refreshed its Apple Watch lineup with Series 8, a new Watch SE, and added a larger, more rugged Apple Watch Ultra for athletes and extreme adventurers. Apple Watch Series 8 has two main upgrades over Series 7: temperature sensors and Crash Detection.

HP Intros "Pro-Grade" Earbuds

Jan 4, 2023
HP has announced the Poly Voyager Free 60+ "pro-grade wireless earbuds for hybrid lifestyles." The unique smart charging case sports an LCD touchscreen for "easy access to volume and mute functions, fast insight into battery life and call status".

Google Fi Lowers Prices on Unlimited Plans

Apr 11, 2022
Google Fi — Google's own MVNO offering cellular service — has adjusted its two unlimited plans to offer more data and features for less money. Google's cheaper Simply Unlimited plan now runs $50/month for one line, down from $60 previously.

Verizon Intros New, Cheaper Unlimited Plan

Jul 12, 2022
Verizon has introduced a new entry-level unlimited plan that's $5/month cheaper. The new Welcome Unlimited plan is mostly similar to the company's 5G Start plan (which was previously the cheapest, and remains available), but does not include the 5 GB of mobile hotspot data that was recently added to that plan.

Comments

This forum is closed.

This forum is closed.

T Bone

Apr 22, 2011, 4:58 PM

The Actual Issue At Hand....

This is a BOGUS patent...period....

The company in question asked for, and received, a patent on a process which has been an exercise in computer programming 101 for more than 40 years....

You need to know a little bit about computer science and computer programming to understand what I am about to say but...

The company patented the IDEA of using a linked list to perform hashing....

How common is this? I have a programming textbook from 1873 by Donald Knuth in which this is an exercise...

I myself did this does essentially this in BASIC at the end of 11 on an Apple IIe.....that was in 1986..

The patent was awarded in 1996....

This company took advantage of the technological ignorance of those who issue patents to win a...
(continues)

Versed

Then it should be overturned on appeal do to prior art?

...

Jayshmay

Your last paragraph definetly makes sense to me!

Slammer

---"The lesson from this is that we badly need patent reform, at the very least the patent office needs to consult with actual experts in the field to determine what is worthy of a patent and what is nothing more than total nonsense masquerading as an...
(continues)

...

dabbler

T Bone said:
The company patented the IDEA of using a linked list to perform hashing....

How common is this? I have a programming textbook from 1873 by Donald Knuth in which this is an exercise...

Man, you sure ...
(continues)

...

ctm88

Apr 23, 2011, 11:05 AM

Linux is open source

Was it a custom flavor of Linux that was patented?

mycool

Apr 22, 2011, 12:24 PM

Wait?

Since when does a company own the linux kernal. Wasn't that developed and owned by Linus?

cstone

To my understanding it isn't "the" Linux kernal but rather "a" linux kernal, which sounds to be the exact one that Google chose to use. This may have some effect on Android's future, but I don't think it will be anything major, or even something that ...
(continues)

...

analyst422

Apr 22, 2011, 1:36 PM

So...

Do they write a check? Imagine that courier ride. I can see the memo now: "Got screwed by Linux". Signed, "Google".

teh.Cheeto

bahahaha!!

T Bone

No, Google didn't get screwed by Linux, they were screwed by a patent system that allowed a company to patent an idea that no one should be able to patent in the first place....

Page 1 of 1