Google Calls Out Microsoft - Apple Gang Up

After Google failed to buy patents from the bankrupt Nortel due to bids placed by Microsoft and Apple, it lashed out against its biggest rivals. Google accused Microsoft and Apple for ganging up to prevent the company from making progress in the smartphone arena. Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond wrote in a blog post, "Microsoft and Apple have always been at each other's throats, so when they get into bed together you have to start wondering what's going on." He said that Microsoft and Apple teamed up to buy the patents so Google wouldn't get them. He referred to the gang up as, "a hostile, organized campaign against Android by Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents."

Crying out at Microsoft and Apple

Microsoft's General Counsel Brad Smith tweeted, "Google says we bought Nortel patents to keep them from Google. Really? We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no." There were no comments from Apple or Oracle. Google lost out on buying the patents to Apple, Microsoft, Research in Motion and others who collectively paid $4.5 billion. Google had bid $3.4 billion for the patents before teaming up with Intel, who had bid $3.1 billion on its own.