Google has seen massive success with its Android mobile platform since it became available. Trouble is there are many other companies that are accusing the search engine giant of copying their ideas. Now British Telecom joins the attack on Google and Android with a lawsuit.
According to The Guardian, BT are claiming billions of dollars from Google after the company filed a lawsuit in the US. They are claiming that the Android operating system is breaking a number of the company’s key patents.
British Telecom filed the lawsuit in the state of Delaware in the US, and covers six different patients that BT says have been infringed. These include location based advertising, Google Music, Google Maps, and Android Market products on the platform.
If British Telecom is successful with their lawsuit it could mean that Google or manufacturers of the handsets paying BT royalties on every Android device already in use, and ones they produce. This could mean BT receiving millions as Android is currently the most successful smartphone platform, and equates to over 40 million handsets produced every quarter.
The lawsuit could also be repeated in Europe and joins a whole host of other companies currently filing lawsuits against the Android platform. These include Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, and eBay amongst others. The company was one of the original providers of mobile phone services and was part of the Cellnet venture in the UK during the 1980s.
Some of the infringements that BT is claiming against the Android platform could also apply to some of the Apple iPhone and iPad devices. One of these is the ‘Busuioc Patent’ that detects when a mobile device is connected to a cellular or Wi-Fi network, and then allows streaming of content.
Does it surprise you that another company is suing Google over the Android platform?
*Identifying Monetised Links - outgoing links that we monetise are marked with an '*' symbol, or (AD). Also, prices and information correct at publish time and date.
