Google hits out at rivals over 'bogus patents'

Google has accused rivals Microsoft and Apple of buying up technology patents in a bid to hold back Android, the BBC News reported.

In a blog post, one of Google's top lawyers accused the firms of using "bogus patents" to crank up the cost of Android-powered devices.

Microsoft hit back saying Google had been invited to bid with it on key patents but turned down the chance.

The statement comes after Google lost several battles over patents covering technology used in handsets.

In the blog post, entitled "When patents attack Android", Google's chief legal officer David Drummond said Android's success had driven its rivals to unite and wage a "hostile, organized campaign" against the mobile operating system.

The conflict was being fought through patents, he said, and paying to licence those patents amounted to a "tax" on Android.

Rivals were seeking to consolidate their position by buying up more patents to stop Google getting hold of them, said Drummond.

In recent months Google has lost auctions for thousands of patents owned by Novell and Nortel, many of which relate to technologies that can be used in smartphones. Ownership of those patents went to consortia made up of many tech firms including Apple and Microsoft.

"Patents were meant to encourage innovation, but lately they are being used as a weapon to stop it," he wrote.