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Kevin Parrish at Tom's Hardware writes:
Allen Lo, Deputy General Counsel for Patents at Google, published a blog announcing the launch of the Patent Purchase Promotion, an experimental marketplace where businesses and individuals can sell their patents to Google. Why? Because the company wants to remove "friction" from the patent market.
"Unfortunately, the usual patent marketplace can sometimes be challenging, especially for smaller participants who sometimes end up working with patent trolls," Lo said in the blog. "Then bad things happen, like lawsuits, lots of wasted effort, and generally bad karma. Rarely does this provide any meaningful benefit to the original patent owner."
[...] Here's how Google's promotion will work: The company will open up the marketplace between May 8 and May 22, 2015. During that time, patent holders will head to a special portal and make pitches to Google that will include a description and what sellers want, financially. After May 22, Google will close the portal and review every submission. Google will then contact patent owners by June 26, 2015 if the company is interested in buying the submitted patent.
Additional coverage at ZDNet.
(Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Wednesday April 29 2015, @12:42PM
If it promises to open up the patents for all to use or at least not use them, then it is a public service.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 29 2015, @01:17PM
From the Google FAQ:
See anything there about being used in a defensive way only? I didn't either. In other words, they can use them the same way MS, Qualcomm, Apple, and Samsung use their respective mobile phone patents. As predators.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Nerdfest on Wednesday April 29 2015, @02:55PM
Yep, sure sounds like it. In Google's defense, so far they haven't been predators (like all the examples you gave). Without a legally binding promise there's nothing stopping them from going it in the future though. I think they have used them *defensively*, but really that's only minimally better. The proper thing to do would be allocating this money to lobbying to get the patent process fixed or abolished, I think.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 29 2015, @03:47PM
In website's defense, so far they haven't been predators
Wow, you're naive... please don't vote in any election
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 29 2015, @04:09PM
He did say "Without a legally binding promise there's nothing stopping them from going it in the future though". Works for me.
(Score: 1) by ghost on Wednesday April 29 2015, @07:47PM
(Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Wednesday April 29 2015, @09:55PM
HTC now has more ammunition in its fight to fend off multiple patent-infringement claims lodged by Apple
Defensive use, again. Apple sued first. As I said, it's not much better, but most definitely *is* better.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 29 2015, @08:52PM
Google is a predator looking for desperate people willing to sell their inventions for pennies.
Like used-car salesmen inflating the value of anything they sell, while finding a million problems with the same item when the buy. A patent they consider useful to themselves will "unfortunately" not find any buyers, and the seller will be forced to sell at a loss.