(Image Source: Hi-Tech Analogy)

BY ADNAN S. KHAN
 

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

Default eminent - economy freezing - stock market crashing.
None of these looming catastrophes seem to faze Google.
Instead the company’s worried about something more simple – patents.

“Google has a patent problem. Its lack of an intellectual property portfolio has made it vulnerable to legal assault. But the Internet search giant is fighting back. It beefed up its portfolio in July with the purchase of more than 1,000 patents from IBM.”

Before the purchase, Google had around 728 patents, whereas Apple has over 4,000 in its portfolio. That’s dwarfed by Microsoft’s 18,000 patents, according to Bloomberg.

The Washington Post quotes an executive of General Patent Corp as saying,

“…patents are the ammunition in the gunfight of litigation, and Google’s clip is comparatively empty.”

Google’s General Counsel Kent Walker tells Bloomberg -- there is an explosion of patent litigations and it is causing major harm to just about everyone.

“This explosion of bad software patent litigation is a real drag on innovation. It’s slowing products from coming to market. It’s keeping consumer’s from having the products they want. It’s cutting spending on R&D and jobs, so it’s turning the economy and the industry. And it’s really a problem for the small guys, the entrepreneurs the innovators who are building apps in their garage. Especially when they are attacked by people who are trying to exploit the system.”

A writer for ZDNet says Google’s made the right choice in buying from IBM, but it might not be enough.

“IBM may not be able to cure Google’s patent woes, but it can certainly be like a pharmacy and dispense a few deals to ease the lawsuit pain.”

Finally, a writer for PC World laments current patent laws. He says those laws have become so ambiguous -- allowing nearly anyone to sue over just about anything.

“Once upon a time, a patent had a purpose. Someone who creates a unique process, or innovative product should be rewarded for his or her efforts, and that accomplishment should be safeguarded from simply being copied or stolen by rivals.”

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