David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer (CLO), said Tuesday that the company would continue to defend the Android ecosystem amid the rising tension in global patent disputes.
“Android (operating system) has been about openness, more manufacturers, more carriers and everyone getting into the game. We felt that there were incumbencies that other competitors were using to stop that,” he said during a news conference in Seoul.
Drummond, who is visiting to attend the firm’s series of international conferences dubbed “Big Tent,” said, “We acquired Motorola for a number of reasons, but a big reason was to help us protect the Android ecosystem. We were very concerned about the use of software patents to stifle innovation.
“We felt that if that were to go unchecked that would drive innovation down and prevent user choice,” he said.
He added that his company will maintain the strategy of “continuing to defend the Android ecosystem” for the next one or two years.
Drummond also refrained from speaking directly about the lawsuit between Apple and Google’s biggest partner Samsung Electronics, only saying: “In terms of the Apple-Samsung dispute, it is not possible for me to give you a personal opinion, given that the Apple lawsuits, are, although not entirely, very much about Android software which we at Google produce.”
Though mentioning no manufacturing partners directly, he said that “going forward, while we are involved in this litigation, we will continue to defend the ecosystem.”
The CLO didn’t comment on specifics of partnerships with Android users based here such as Samsung or LG Electronics. Google is speculated to be preparing a Nexus phone with LG, presumably using the Korean manufacturer’s latest handset Optimus G.
The legal head of the search giant is also meeting with Korea Communications Commission (KCC) officials Wednesday. Many issues concerning the safety of the Internet have popped up recently in Korea; raised by politicians due to the upcoming presidential election.
Google has been in talks with various Korean government agencies in the past year concerning its services such as Google Maps and privacy policies, which conflict with domestic regulations.
But he hinted that the firm will try to find a middle ground with the regulator here. “I don’t think Korea’s regulations hinder Google’s development.”
“Our general view is the more open the Internet the better,” said the CLO. “We at Google believe that smart regulation is one of those ingredients that creates a creative economy ― regulation that recognizes openness and makes it possible for communications.”
During the conference, which was launched in the United Kingdom last year, he praised Korea’s interest and innovations in information technology.
“We are here in Seoul to host the conference. What we are going to look at is how Korea can become an innovation hub, much like Silicon Valley. So at Google we really believe that Korea can become a hub of innovation, and Big Tent is one part of the investment we are making here.”
According to Google, Korea’s Internet industry has “important economic potential” as it currently contributes around 6 percent of gross domestic product here, and may rise to be on par with automobile and electronics.
Being the senior executive vice president of the company’s corporate development division, he also said that Google always looked “outside Google” for talent and mergers, which people didn’t initially understand: “We have lots of examples. Andy Rubin had a tiny little start-up called Android, and of course, the rest is history.”
(By Cho Mu-hyun, Source: www.koreatimes.co.kr)
