Google has obtained 1,023 patents from IBM in an effort to further protect their Android platform from potential lawsuits waged by rival smartphone OS providers. The transfer was recorded on Tuesday at the US Patent and Trademark Office's website, which shows the deal took place on August 17, reports SEO by the Sea.
Bloomberg claims that Google spokesperson Jim Prosser confirmed the transaction but didn't give any further details of the deal. A spokesperson for IBM declined to comment.
One could argue that 2011 has been the year of patent wars. One sure-fire way to protect yourself from a myriad of lawsuits is to acquire as many patents as you can get your hands on, which is exactly what Google has been up to lately.
The company picked up 1,029 patents from IBM in July after losing out on a patent sale from bankrupt Nortel Networks. The monumental deal was among the largest intellectual property portfolio ever sold, covering data networking, wireless, optical, voice, semiconductor and service-provider technologies. Google lost the sale to a consortium of companies including Microsoft, Apple, EMC, RIM and Sony that banned together to form Rockstar Bidco. The final sale price was $4.5 billion after 19 rounds of bidding, resulting in some 6,000 patents and patent applications changing hands.
In August, Google agreed to buy Motorola's mobile unit for $12.5 billion and pending customary regulatory approvals, would be awarded more than 17,000 additional patents.
Google sold nine patents to HTC last week as the handset maker looks to pursue their own patent infringement claims against rival Apple.