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BY JING LIU

ANCHOR JIM FLINK

You're watching multisource global video news analysis from Newsy.

$12.5 billion for 17,000 patents, but according to Bloomberg, Google is really only after a prized 18.

Bloomberg says the inventions go all the way back to 1994 and are at the center of three lawsuits between Motorola and Apple.  A CEO from a patent brokerage firm is quoted by the network saying...

“There are a lot of sweet patents in that portfolio,” ... He  [also] said Google only needs a few to bolster its legal position.

It may be more than just position – analysts say the mobile battle is reaching new heights.

“They brought a set of patents that they thought would do a job they set out for, which is telling Apple to back off.” “This is a war...”

But could this be a bad deal for Google?  CNN says while it might be expensive – it should provide quite a bit of protection.
  
“Really what it comes down to is they’re acquiring the patent portfolio of Motorola, 17,000 patents to really protect them in the mobile space because a lot of time we have companies like Apple and Samsung and Microsoft suing each other because they say phones violate the patents. Google, although this is a big move financially, really more than anything, that was most motivated to protect themselves against inside legal battles.”

But it’s not an all-google winner’s circle. PC Magazine quotes a mobile industry expert who says Google’s Motorola purchase is probably a win-win deal. While helping Google improve its weak patent portfolio, the deal will also help a reeling Motorola.

“Much as it did in the feature phone market in the RAZR era, Motorola is experiencing increased competition from Samsung and LG in the smartphone market ... Closer ties to the heart of Android can help inspire new paths to differentiation.”

Finally, ZDNet says it’s not just Google and Samsung that matter here. There might be a patent balloon waiting to be popped.

“This might not be the only occasion in which tech giants are fighting over patent portfolios filled by the thousands for only a handful to protect themselves. ... This is really the perfect time for these flailing companies and more out there to sell off their patents for more than they are probably worth before this bubble bursts.”
 

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