In the latest techno-war, Microsoft filed a patent infringement suit against Motorola claiming the company’s Android-based smartphones violate nine Microsoft patents related to syncing email, calendar, and contact information, along with scheduling meetings and notifying applications about available battery power and signal strength. The suit seeks undefined monetary damages and a permanent injunction barring the sale of Motorola Android phones in the United States.  Microsoft claims that it is safeguarding “the billions of dollars” it invests each year in bringing innovative software products and services to market. Florian Mueller does a good job discussing the suit.

It does not take a genius to realize that Motorola is not the real target; however, another Android-phone manufacturer, HTC, recently signed a royalty agreement with Microsoft in exchange for access to Microsoft’s patent portfolio.  There are two directions that the recent suit could go – Motorola inks a royalty agreement with Microsoft or Google’s Android OS goes back to the drawing board.

Why is this significant?  The success of the iPad has launched tech companies into a frenzy to develop an iPad competitor, or killer.  The key to their success will be the OS.  Google is working on an OS to power these watered-down laptops.  Additionally, over the last six months, Android-based phones have become the most popular smartphones on the market. 

All this on the eve of Microsoft launching its own Windows Phone 7 platform and working with tablet makers to adopt Windows for their new products.  Windows Phone 7 is likely Microsoft’s last chance to get into the non-business smartphone market, and last chance to exert a kung-fu grip on business clients. Microsoft’s prior mobile OS efforts were virtually complete failures, as seen by the success of the Blackberry – which is slowly going by the wayside as businesses provide iPhone functionality.  Let’s face it, it is tough to compete with modern GUIs and instant-on functionality.   I love Microsoft, but it could use a little rejuvenation and be mindful that sometimes less is more.

With Motorola caught in the crosshairs, this lawsuit has the potential of taking down the new kid on the block.  So now that Google has drawn the ire of Apple, Oracle, and Microsoft, what is a tech behemoth to do?  Only time will tell, but I suspect there will be no licensing deals between Microsoft and Google.

Then you have the other approach, promulgated by the RIAA, which is crying that the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act contains loopholes that allow broadband providers and Web companies to turn a blind eye to customers’ unlawful activities without suffering any legal consequences.  Because clearly the only way to protect one’s business and make money is to increase punishment and expand the acts subject to punishment.  Are we back in the Middle Ages?

The sad thing is that, with the money and influence the RIAA wields, the DMCA will likely be amended to extend the umbrella of who can be prosecuted for copyright infringement and increase the penalties.  Who suffers?  The consumers and American capitalists who provide the backbone of this nation, not the whiners and media moguls who lack a little technological creativity.  My advice to the have-nots: Look at the direction the internet and media are heading, muster up some ingenuity, and discard your antiquated methods of castigation.

First, Oracle spent a small (massive to me) fortune to take over Sun Microsystems and its IP portfolio ($5.6 billion).   At that time, Larry Ellison said that Java was the most important piece of software his company had ever acquired.  That was an understatement.  Java is everywhere.  You cannot compute in today’s society without coming across a Java application or applet.  Oracle reports that billions of devices run Java ME, a version of the Java programming language for applications built for mobile phones and other devices (e.g., TV set-top boxes and printers).  Therefore, Oracle might view the Google patent work-around as a threat to one of its revenue streams (estimated by Peter Goldmacher, an analyst at Cowen and Co., at $250 million per year).  Would you lay quietly?  I think not.

Second, Oracle’s patent rights permit it to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention.  Therefore, to protect the integrity of your invention, and maintain the ability to exclude others, you sue.  In other words, why does a dog lick himself?  Because he can.

Importantly, we all know that patent lawsuits tend to settle with licensing agreements that grant each party the right to use the other’s technology.  Do I need to remind you again of Microsoft’s $1.6 billion payment to Sun in 2004?  Oracle may be attempting to expand the revenue stream of Java – either before it becomes defunct or in anticipation is some great expansion.   Alternatively, in all likelihood, Oracle is attempting to gain some leverage in its licensing negotiations with Google, which started long before the lawsuit was filed.   The other potential fruit of this litigation is a piece of the magic between Google and handset manufacturers (either phone or tablet).  Ka – wait for it – ching!!!

My final thought on this, which is not original, is that Oracle dumped a lot of cash into the Sun deal knowing that there was a large target on Google.  That tells me that Oracle hoped to get several billion dollars in a licensing deal with Google, and several billion more from handset/tablet manufacturers.   Nice investment if you play your cards correctly.  However, you will get burned if you slow-play those pocket aces.

The irony is that it is the ultimate open-source battle.  Neither company makes money on their open-source creations.  The source code is available for free and developers are free to modify as they please (with minor limitations).   Google, as a developer, avoided paying Oracle licensing fees and developed its own software that runs Java-based applications for the Android operating system.  I thought this was the mission of the open-source movement – foster technological development, lower costs, and end predatory vendor lock-in. 

So what is Larry Ellison thinking?  I have no friggin’ idea.  Could the growth of Apple and explosive popularity of Android be scaring the geezer?  Probably.  There is a revolution occuring in computer technology with Apple and Google leading the way.  Its business could be struggling from a lack of ingenuity and forward thinking.  If you cannot anticipate the future in computers, you can not prepare for the future of computers.  Companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft are creating the future of computers.  Oracle may think that it has nothing to lose at this point.  However, recall what happened to Java when Sun sued Microsoft for patent infringement in 1997?  It took a long time for Sun to recover.

So what does this lawsuit mean for you?  First, expect a backlash by software developers.  Programmers are the riptide that could drag Oracle under water, bringing Java down with it.  If anyone possesses the talent to develop a replacement for the antiquated Java, it is Google.  You heard it here first (I think).  Second, buy Microsoft.  Third, buy Microsoft.  Why?

Remember that riptide?  While this case is pending, many developers and customers will worry about the fate of Android and its impact on devices . . . and their bottom line.  This could lead to a migration to Microsoft’s .NET system, which was effectively created in response to the Sun lawsuit.  The .NET system might not be open-source, but its global reach and secure legal status make it an attractive platform.  Although I am not a programmer, my impression is that .NET offers a superior platform.  I’m just saying.