Google and its Android operating system has come under fire recently from all directions due to a lack of patent protection. Google acquired Motorola Mobility in part because of the 17,000 mobile patents it holds. Though it is very powerful, Google is a relatively young company with fewer patents than Microsoft or Apple. Mobile search and browsing is a daily part of millions of lives, and that means new revenue streams for Google. The other thing Google realizes is that social media and being social on the web has huge potential for increased revenue. Google has its own social network with Google +. The only problem is the biggest player in social, Facebook, has over 750 million users.
What is Google to do? In my mind, Google should sue Facebook citing infringement on as many patents as possible, just like Apple, Microsoft, and Oracle are doing to Google right now. Facebook, according to ZDNet, has twelve patents. From an intellectual property standpoint, Facebook is vulnerable. Google shouldn't beat Facebook with a new social network; Google should win the social war with Facebook paying licensing fees. Will Google do this, I don't know. I guess time will tell.
No comments:
Post a Comment