If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Such is the logic behind Motorola CEO's cautionary reminder that his company is sitting on a considerable warchest of patent protections itself.
Coming just a day after the news broke that Apple's legal complaints
against Samsung in Europe (following similar developments
in Australia) contained references to a separate lawsuit by Apple
against Motorola in relation to its Xoom tablet, Motorola Mobility's CEO Sanjay Jha has openly come out and warned that his company, a long-time player in the mobile industry, itself enjoys a considerable portfolio of intellectual property with regard to innovations in the mobile sector, which it could potentially leverage against rival Android device manufacturers (in terms of collecting licensing fees).
As reported by
Unwired View, Jha said the following during a keynote speech at the Oppenheimer Technology & Communications conference this week: “I would bring up [intellectual property as] very important for differentiation (among Android vendors). We have a very large IP portfolio, and I think in the long term, as things settle down, you will see a meaningful difference in positions of many different Android players. Both, in terms of avoidance of royalties, as well as potentially being able to collect royalties. And that will make a big difference to people who have very strong IP positions.”
Android manufacturers scrapping it out amongst one another? Apple must be loving this. (That is, unless and until Motorola's old-school legal arsenal equips it to lean over onto the iPhone and iOS as well. It wouldn't be
the first time.)
