Skyhook Wireless sues Google over failed Motorola deal

By on Sep 16, 2010 at 8:53 AM
Legal September 16, 2010

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that mobile location company Skyhook Wireless is suing Google, alleging that the search giant “interfered with a contract, announced in April, to put its location technology on Motorola Inc. phones.” Skyhook, for those not familiar, is a company that created a system — call XPS — that uses GPS, cellular, and Wi-Fi data to help triangulate the location of a device quickly. The company’s technologies were in previous iterations of iOS and currently are in dozens of mobile devices. The WSJ writes, “Google called Motorola several times to put “stop ship” orders on products containing Skyhook technology and insisted that its own location technology run side-by-side on devices using Skyhook. The result, the complaint states, is that Motorola shipped a device in mid-July without Skyhook technology.” Skyhook says the sour deal cost the company tens of millions of dollars; Motorola has yet to comment on the report. We’ll keep you updated as this one develops.

[Via PhoneScoop]

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31 Comments

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  • Bob

    Google took our ball!

    Even though we were playing with our ball on their field….

    • Jarrett

      Stealing is stealing.

      • Hariett

        You mean like how Apple stole their Mac OS UI and Mouse from PARC?

      • Jarrett

        Which is why Apple paid Xerox roughly 100 million dollars several years after the fact. The difference in that case is both parties settled their situation without a court needed.

        Help yourself out and know the whole story, not just the part that fits your “Ploint”

      • Jarrett

        http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Apple_Inc.?wasRedirected=true

        scroll down to PARC and LISA.

        Xerox basically sold their future. Jobs himself has stated numerous times that xerox could have been Microsoft but they had no idea what they had. Xerox snatch defeat from the jaws of the greatest victory that would have ever been.

      • Jarrett

        It is amazing how a little bit of information gets people to shut their mouth.

        Know something of truth when trying to discuss things you think you know.

      • Willis

        I agree with your below statement. That is why I am in my mom’s basement playing the new Halo.

      • Al Chablis

        Nice info. But your asinine statement below and pompous attitude destroys any likelihood of your garnering any respect from readers. Similar to running a 100 meter dash, crossing the finish line in triumph, then immediately squatting and taking a huge, steamy sh*t for all to see. Bravo.

      • menno

        Actually, Stealing isn’t stealing in this case, because Google didn’t steal anything.

        All they did was inform Motorola that if they decided to use services other than Google’s (where google offered services for android) they couldn’t get their devices certified as “With Google.”

        Motorola could still release functional Android Handsets (See the Samsung Fascinate, or Moto’s own Backflip) but they couldn’t be certified.

        The difference here is that the deal with skyhook was exclusive, so ANY phones moto made couldn’t be certified.

        And they shouldn’t be certified if Google isn’t offering all the services. Why would Google certify something using competitor’s products?

        Android is Open, Google Apps and “With Google” are not, and have never been.

  • BruthaBeige

    Android has Google maps and navigation deeply rooted into their OS…. how are you going to sue them for trying to keep it that way?? Your fault for trying to mess with one of the best and most recognized features on the Android system.

    • G

      Skyhook is only a location based service company. They don’t provide the actual map or the navigation application. They provide the behind the scenes work, mainly your location at any given point and time via GPS, WPS, cellular tower triangulation and XPS. They were not trying to unseat Google Maps and Navigation. As a matter of fact Motorola called them due to the numerous complaints about GPS locations with their handsets.

  • Eric Schmidt

    There’s always someone trying to sue Google…nothing new here folks.

    Move along, move along.

  • Jarrett

    Skyhook has worn out it’s usefulness. Next stop: Chapter 11?

    • Jarrett

      Great name but Skyhook is doing just fine. Their patents alone will keep them in the black.

  • Jarrett

    You can produce the exact samething as someone else but you have to use your own methods to get to the conclusion. Usually companies file patent suits because evidence shows that the offending party is actually using methods that are “borrowed”.

  • John

    I suspect Google will start putting requirements on what must ship with the OS in order for it to bear the Google name. Navigation/Maps, google search might be on the list.. AKA say goodbye to skyhook and bing if you want to say powered by Google or anything. I think this IS the way to go.. it encourages the use of Google Apps, which are typically better than the horrible alternative like bing. The OS will remain open source and free to use, just not with the Google name if you modify it to whatever extent.

    • Jarrett

      To my understanding it’s pretty much like that now. The OS is free but using Google Apps and see ices is what the manufacturers are paying for. I do agree though Google needs to set a standard as to what a shipping Android phone should be. Taking some control will only help Google. As a business I am sure they understand that their “open” OS doesn’t really mean anything if you don’t have control of it.

      • menno

        The os is still open.

        Google is putting NO restrictions on android.

        They are putting restrictions on what they certify.

        I think what they need to do is better market that fact.

  • w ALd o

    Google locators sometimes peg me a few miles from my actual location. Skyhook or any other more accurate locators would have helped considerably. OR Google can at least scramble to fine tune their processes.

  • G

    The lawsuit will fail miserably. All Google has to do is to point to the Samsung Fascinate. The only thing Google has to do with that phone is the OS itself being Android. It uses Bing Search and Navigation instead of Google.

  • futurejohn

    I don’t quite understand why Skyhook is suing Google. It sounds like Motorola had the contract and would have ultimately made the decision to pull Skyhook. Even if Google made threats, it would have been Motorola’s responsibility to fulfill it’s obligation to Skyhook.

    I hate lawsuits.

    • OldNewOne

      “Even if Google made threats, it would have been Motorola’s responsibility to fulfill it’s obligation to Skyhook.”

      If a third party comes in and breaks up a business deal between two parties, then the aggrieved party to the deal can sue the third party under the theory of “intentional interference with business expectancy” or “tortious interference with business relationship” or whatever similar tort the state recognizes.

  • Al Chablis

    Nice how Motorola, once the powerhouse and ultimate ruler of all things cellular, is now just a wimpy b*tch, taking orders from software developers and platform owners. #sad.

  • Reply

    Google taking a page out of Apple’s book? Unpossible!

    Not enough information to judge this one yet…

  • c3dude

    google certified? So what, that’s worth less than the time it takes to type. Certified or not, it’s still got so much hardware and hardware level differentiation that it’s impossible to declare a hardware standard for certified. So it means what? That it runs vanilla android? You’re right, totally worth the trouble.

  • Ben

    What about Android being open? Where are all the Google fanboys to tell us how open Android is?

    • Wow….

      There are obviously some key details missing from this story. It would be ignorant to form an opinion based on a single sentence that doesn’t even explain WHY Google issued the “stop ship” orders…

  • Eric

    SkyHook MapsBooster on S60 is sooo awesome.

    Turned on SkyHook on my SGS too. Total life saver.

  • lol

    everyone changes their story when the cash is involved.

  • G

    According to some additional information that came out regarding the lawsuit. Skyhook is claiming Google issued the order to other phone makers as well. Good luck proving that. AT&T has been stripping their Android phones of Google services since they began selling those phones earlier this year. AT&T has made it quite clear they they will continue to have their phones that way for as long as they sell Android phones. I too am starting to believe this has to do with “with Google” certified phones. Motorola and HTC mainly being the only phone makers that I know of using the “with Google” ceritification printed on the back of their devices.

  • JM

    Yes, stealing is stealing. It is interesting that this is such a difficult concept when many millions of dollars are involved but so simple when it is gas money.

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