Buying Motorola means Google will inherit all of these patent lawsuits

By Jeffrey Van Camp Published August 16, 2011

Oh Google, we hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into. Owning Motorola’s 17,000 issued patents and 7,500 pending patents was one of the major reasons Google announced its acquisition plans for the company. Owning Motorola doesn’t come without its fair share of baggage, however. Not only does Motorola have a troubled financial history, it also has a troubling number of patent lawsuits on its books.

CNET has created a nice infographic showing a portion of the large number of patent infringement suits currently filed against Motorola, and its lawsuits against others. When the purchase was announced, Google stated that Motorola’s suits and defense would continue to be managed by the company’s own legal team. Still, here’s what Google will be up against.

motorola-patent-lawsuits-infographic-cnet — Image used with permission by copyright holder

For more information on Google’s proposed purchase of Motorola and its possible impact on Android, head here. If you’re tired of patents and litigation, we’ve also compiled a list of ways Google could improve Motorola products should they merge.

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Jeffrey Van Camp

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…

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