Google CEO Larry Page explains reasoning behind Motorola acquisition (spoiler: patents)

By on Aug 15, 2011 at 8:38 AM
Business August 15, 2011

In a post penned by Larry Page on Google’s company blog, the CEO explains why Google decided to shell out $12.5 billion to purchase smartphone vendor Motorola Mobility. While Page had plenty to say about Motorola’s extensive history and its leading role in Android’s explosive growth, he also points to what many believe to be one of the leading factors behind the deal: patents. “We recently explained how companies including Microsoft and Apple are banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android,” the CEO wrote on Google’s blog. “The U.S. Department of Justice had to intervene in the results of one recent patent auction to ‘protect competition and innovation in the open source software community’ and it is currently looking into the results of the Nortel auction. Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.” Read on for more.

Regarding where this deal might leave other big Android partners such as Samsung and HTC, Page was sure to indicate that Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility will not push them out of the space. “This acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform,” Page noted in his post. “Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. We will run Motorola as a separate business. Many hardware partners have contributed to Android’s success and we look forward to continuing to work with all of them to deliver outstanding user experiences.” Google is obviously looking to build a scenario where it can control the end-to-end Android user experience as a result of this acquisition, but it also appears that the company is looking to protect the Android ecosystem as a whole by using patents obtained through the deal to fight off assailants like Apple and Microsoft.

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  • Radsmith

    So Windows and Apple buying patents is anti-competitive but Google buying patents is pro-competition.  Can’t believe he can say that with a straight face.   Should the government stop this deal because of competition?  That’s what Google wanted them to do with the other patent purchase, right?  Or should they leave this alone because Google is the “good guy”.  You know , our motto is “Don’t be evil!”

    Reminds me of cold war rhetoric.  Those evil people over there are building nuclear weapons to end the world, but we are building nuclear weapons to protect the world.

    Samsung and HTC and the rest of the Android minions are rejoicing now cause they think it will protect them in the patent wars.  Just wait.  I wonder if Google will sit passively when Samsungs and HTCs continue outselling Motorola by factors of 5-10.  Wonder if Google would do anything to even out the Android playing field a little.  Something to give MM a little extra head start.  Nah, they probably won’t.  Their motto is Don’t be evil!

  • http://www.TheGuruReview.net TGR

    I am not a fan of Google since they look at their GMAIL users emails which is an invasion of privacy.  Furthermore, Google is THE DEVIL.

  • http://profiles.google.com/jshurak Jeff Shurak

    I can’t believe the number of apple trolls on this website.  Its a bit silly really.

  • Alexander530

    Oh please. Google does not need to buy Moto just for their patents. That’s a crapload of BS.

    They bought Moto, because among all prominent android OEM’s, Moto is financially the weakest compared to Samsung, HTC and Sony. Samsung, HTC, and Sony will not sell themselves to Google. That’s for sure. That leaves Google with Moto.

    As for Google’s relationship with other android OEM’s, of course they’ll continue to have them utilize android, but which one gets the best support? It’s HTC, hahahaha, just kidding, of course it’s Moto. Common sense please. How will Google take their $12B back? They have to compete with everyone else and would have to make good profits.

    • Geokaplan

      So Google offered $12.5B–twice as much money as Google made in 2009–to buy a company which hans’t made a profit since Moses was in short pants? Motorola Mobility, the company which sprung Blur on an unsuspecting world and which had designed some of the most fugly phones in the history of the cellular business over the last few years?

      Seriously? This is your defense?

      This deal is a slo-mo train wreck. Google will try and make Moto the Nexus source, then learn that Moto doesn’t have a designer capable of creating a phone as good-looking as the Nexus S, the iPhone or the HTC Sensation. So they’ll hire away some talented people, spending more of Larry and Sergei’s money, and still not turn a profit. Meanwhile, HTC, Samsung, LG, SonyEricsson and others will work to either build their own OS or hedge their bets with WebOS and Windows Mobile.

      BTW, did you not know that Google makes the vast majority of its money through search? If the Feds or the Euro Union force them to open Android to Bing and others, Google will take it in the shorts for revenue, all the while they bleed cash on Moto. Even Microsoft had a Plan B in Office when they had to allow IE to accept Google and others for search.

  • Rob

    regardless  of who you like apple microsoft or Google, it sucks when the market place is decided in the courts rather that in the field of innovation. But that being said apple is the biggest patent troll there is, their injunction in Europe against the supposedly “slavisly coppied” Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was based on doctored photos…prepare for that one to be overturned

  • Cacao

    Dude should use his millions to get a face transplant. He ugly!

  • Palm

    +.   but palm would have been cheaper for the patents alone.

  • Anonymous

    I presume that Google would not classify THESE patents as “bogus”.

  • Anonymous

    Doesn’t Google get the set top business with Motorola Mobility too? This could spell great things for Google TV being integrated in the next box you lease from Verizon or Comcast.

    • Geokaplan

      Google TV’s problems were in getting the blessing and approval of the television content providers (so Hulu was blocked), and not understanding that the majority of people don’t see purpose or value in using a keyboard with their TV–they see television as a passive activity, unlike viewing the internet on a computer.

      Buying Moto doesn’t change that, it simply means Google will own a company which can’t make Google TV successful if the weaknesses of Google TV aren’t addressed.

  • http://twitter.com/Theonick Theo Walker

    Honestly i like Google just as the other person and i’m a Blackberry fan so this doesn’t benefit me but !
    I’LL SUPPORT ANYTHING to that brings down and or fight APPLE and the brain washing shit they they offer i-this i-that ………IF I HAVE TO CHOOSE SIDE it’s Google all the wayyyyyyyy for me.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_5HSF7K6WH3MOY3WOLI6C52M3LM Lily Rice

    I just paìd $22.85 for an ìPad 2-64GB and my girlfriend loves her Panasonic Lumix GF 1 Camera that we got for $38.78 there arriving tomorrow by UPS. I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LED TV to my boss for $625 which only cost me $62.81 to buy. Here is the website we use to get it all from, CentHub.còm

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