This week, I read an article about the acquisition of Skyhook Wireless by Liberty Media's TruePosition and its larger implications on the ongoing patent war. One thing is for certain, TruePosition made this deal happen because Skyhook Wireless holds patents and IP that have already been used to attack Google's technology. But why is this history important? Because it validates the assumption that Liberty Media will go after Google yet again in the courts.
What's refreshing about this battle is that the patents that are now owned by TruePosition do in fact help the company out. But we cannot say that Liberty Media is not just another patent troll. On the contrary, Liberty Media is just as big a troll as someone like IPCom.
We still cannot tell what the implications of this acquisition will be on the overall pending Google patent litigation. But one this is for certain. If Google decides to wage war it will face a worthy adversary and not just another small firm trying to make big bucks. There is always a chance that if this does proceed to court Google and Liberty Media will come to a settlement. But the intentions of Skyhook Wireless' new owners is not clear and Google has never been big on actually agreeing to pay licensing royalties.
It's also interesting to see how Liberty Media might have to enforce Skyhook's IP just to maintain credibility. In the words of the author:
"It wouldn't be logical for Liberty Media to acquire IP and tout it in a press release only to dismiss a case without getting royalties. In doing so it would devalue Skyhook's patent portfolio and call into question the rationale for the transaction."
Hey. At least they'll be sticking to their principle.
The original article can be referenced below.
http://www.fosspatents.com/2014/02/liberty-medias-trueposition-acquires.html
What's refreshing about this battle is that the patents that are now owned by TruePosition do in fact help the company out. But we cannot say that Liberty Media is not just another patent troll. On the contrary, Liberty Media is just as big a troll as someone like IPCom.
We still cannot tell what the implications of this acquisition will be on the overall pending Google patent litigation. But one this is for certain. If Google decides to wage war it will face a worthy adversary and not just another small firm trying to make big bucks. There is always a chance that if this does proceed to court Google and Liberty Media will come to a settlement. But the intentions of Skyhook Wireless' new owners is not clear and Google has never been big on actually agreeing to pay licensing royalties.
It's also interesting to see how Liberty Media might have to enforce Skyhook's IP just to maintain credibility. In the words of the author:
"It wouldn't be logical for Liberty Media to acquire IP and tout it in a press release only to dismiss a case without getting royalties. In doing so it would devalue Skyhook's patent portfolio and call into question the rationale for the transaction."
Hey. At least they'll be sticking to their principle.
The original article can be referenced below.
http://www.fosspatents.com/2014/02/liberty-medias-trueposition-acquires.html
It does make sense that there Liberty Media will be trying to make their acquisition worth the buck. If they just dismiss the case without reaping any benefits, they might not be able to make as good of a case in future when they decide to sue another company, particularly in the high tech mobile industry where they are not the experts.
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