Google dismisses lawsuits as 'legal fun'
During a question-and-answer session at Google's Mobile Revolution Conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, Schmidt dismissed patent lawsuits filed by tech heavyweights Apple, Microsoft and Oracle as 'legal fun'.
He suggested that the suits, which have been filed against high-profile Android vendors such as Motorola and HTC, were the result of envy at Android's success during its rapid rise as a mobile operating system power.
“We have seen an explosion of Android devices entering the market and, because of our successes, competitors are responding with lawsuits, as they cannot respond through innovations,” he said, according to ZDNet. “I'm not too worried about this.”
Notwithstanding Schmidt's confidence, phone makers offering Android devices are already hedging their investments by signing licensing deals with Google's competitors. One of its biggest partners, Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, last year inked a deal with Microsoft to licence patents used in Android.
General Dynamics Itronix, Velocity Micro, Wistron and Onkyo are four other manufacturers that have signed similar agreements with Redmond.
When asked about delivering help to HTC and possibly paying bills should HTC lose, Schmidt pledged general support for its partner, reports Bloomberg Businessweek.
He added: “We will make sure they don't lose, then.”
It's not surprising that Schmidt is dismissing concerns around Android, though some might take issue with the claim that competitors such as Apple are not innovating. But there are growing worries about how much it will cost Android manufacturers to use the freely licensed operating system once all the different cases get resolved.
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