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Google's Patent Pledge Says Tech Giant Won't Sue 'Unless First Attacked'

Google's Patent Pledge Says Tech Giant Won't Sue 'Unless First Attacked'
By 

Freelance journalist

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FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2010 file photo, the company logo is displayed is at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. The intense rivalry between Facebook and Google just got juicier as characters behind the latest Silicon Valley drama evoked talk of smear campaigns, secret clients and even Richard Nixon. It took a once-secret blogger, known as Fake Steve Jobs, to help sort it all out. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)

Google is aiming to fight back against so-called patent trolls, announcing Thursday on its Open Source blog that it's taking part in a self-designed Open Patent Non-Assertion Pledge (OPN).

Going forward, this means that the company will take 10 of its patents and pledge "not to sue any user, distributor or developer of open-source software on [those] specified patents, unless first attacked." Google goes on to explain what it means by "first attacked": "The Pledge may be terminated, but only if a party brings a patent suit against Google products or services, or is directly profiting from such litigation."

The tech giant also says that it will expand the number of patents included in the pledge over time, and urges other tech companies to join in on the initiative. "We hope the OPN Pledge will serve as a model for the industry," the post says.

Patent spending at several large tech companies -- including Google and Apple -- overtook spending on research and development in 2011. That's bad for companies, bad for the economy and bad for users.

So what companies are likely to join Google's patent pledge? We've put together a gallery of five tech companies that may have a reason to join Google in its OPN.

5 Tech Behemoths That Might Join Google's Pledge
Amazon(01 of05)
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Despite owning the infamous "One-Click" patent, Amazon's Jeff Bezos has been vocal about his dislike for the current patent system, even starting his own (unsuccessful) attempt at patent reform in 2000. (credit:LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images)
Microsoft(02 of05)
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Microsoft has been bemoaning the patent system -- and outlining patent reform proposals -- on and off since 2005. On Thursday it released "Patent Tracker," a searchable database of every Microsoft patent, in an effort to help promote "transparency" and "prevent gamesmanship" within the patent world. (credit:AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Apple(03 of05)
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At first glance, Apple may seem the least likely of the big tech companies to go along with Google's initiative; after all, it has proved to be an aggressive patent-holder and infamously went after Samsung and even Google.But Apple CEO Tim Cook has spoken out against the patent wars, calling them "a pain in the ass" and "a time suck." Cook was reportedly against suing Samsung to begin with, so maybe he'll be willing to give this patent reform thing a try. (credit:AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Intel(04 of05)
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Intel has been a vocal supporter of open source projects -- and an open critic of current patent practices -- for a while now. It has even taken the bold step of funding university research on the condition that it is open-sourced. Like Google and BlackBerry, it has joined the Coalition For Patent Fairness. (credit:REMY GABALDA/AFP/Getty Images)
BlackBerry(05 of05)
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Blackberry's support for patent reform has been relatively quiet -- but out of all the big tech companies, it may have the most to gain from reform. The company has been a frequent target of patent trolls, most notably in 2006, when it lost $612.5 million to a patent-holding company called NTP. (credit:Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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