An Explosion of Mobile Patent Lawsuits
At first glance, it looks as if we're in the middle of a patent lawsuit Super Bowl party. Nearly every large mobile phone player — with the exception of Microsoft, Palm and, so far, Google — has recently been involved in some sort of patent litigation regarding mobile technologies.
Context & Ripple Effects
A 2008 account had already portrayed smartphone patents as a litigation trigger, captured in early warnings that newly issued smartphone patents drew lawsuits quickly. The breadth of disputes described here indicates that pattern is no longer confined to isolated claims.
Microsoft, Palm and Google are identified as exceptions to the immediate wave, while most major mobile-phone players are already managing patent disputes alongside product competition.
First-order effects
- Mobile companies already in litigation must allocate management attention and legal resources to defending or asserting rights around mobile technologies.
- Microsoft, Palm and Google face a market in which patent litigation is becoming a competitive consideration even though they are not among the companies identified as involved at this point.
Second-order effects
- As more major vendors become parties to disputes, patent portfolios gain importance as negotiating leverage between handset and mobile-technology players.
- The asymmetry between litigants and the named exceptions increases pressure on mobile companies to assess both exposure to others' patents and the defensive value of their own holdings.
Third-order effects
- If the 2008 pattern of rapid smartphone patent suits continues across major vendors, mobile competition will be shaped not only by devices and software but also by the ability to sustain patent enforcement and defense.
- A broadening litigation field risks raising the cost of participation for smaller mobile entrants that lack comparable patent portfolios or legal capacity.
The trend: Mobile technology is becoming a patent-intensive competitive arena, with intellectual-property portfolios increasingly functioning as both legal risk and strategic leverage.