Google offers $900m in Nortel mobile and wireless patent auction

Google has launched an opening bid of $900m for a package of around 6,000 patents from defunct Canadian telecoms firm Nortel Networks, which it says will be used to defend the open source community against legal attack.

The bundle of patents includes licensing for wireless, LTE, networking, optical, service provider, semiconductors and other portfolios.

Google's opening bid is the first stage in an auction process that is expected to attract more bidders, including Apple and Nokia.

"This is an unprecedented opportunity to acquire one of the most extensive and compelling patent portfolios to ever come on the market," said George Riedel, chief strategy officer at Nortel.

"We look forward to what we hope will be a robust auction, following the requisite court approvals, currently expected to be held in June 2011."

Google said that it is looking to acquire the patents to use as a defence against legal challenges, such as those faced from Oracle and Microsoft over Android. The company is pushing for patent reform, but in the meantime needs a patent armoury.

"If successful, we hope this portfolio will not only create a disincentive for others to sue Google, but help us, our partners and the open source community - which is integrally involved in projects like Android and Chrome - continue to innovate," said Kent Walker, general counsel at Google, in a blog post.

"In the absence of meaningful reform, we believe it's the best long-term solution for Google, our users and our partners."

Google's lack of intellectual property is a handicap in potential litigation, according to Eric Waltmire, patent law specialist at Erickson Law Group.

"When you're sued by competitor, the first thought is how can you can countersue," he told V3.co.uk.

"If Google can't countersue over patents, then potential plaintiffs look and see what kind of liability they would have. But mobile and wireless is a very highly patented area and this could be a big help."

Waltmire pointed out that Google may also be looking to derive an income from the patents. IBM and others have been very successful in building huge licensing revenues from large patent portfolios.