Internet search giant Google has launched lawsuits against telecoms company BT in the UK and US, claiming BT has infringed several of its technologies. The lawsuits follow the one BT launched against Google in 2011.
Google has claimed BT has infringed four of its patents pertaining to internet communications technologies.
A Google spokeswoman told BBC News Online that Google has always seen litigation as a last resort.
“We work hard to avoid lawsuits,” she said. “But BT has brought several meritless patent claims against Google and our customers – and they’ve also been arming patent trolls.”
Patent trolls refers to firms that acquire patents so they can later extract settlements from companies on infringement claims.
BT had no response to Google’s claims in this recent case, other than a spokesman for the company saying BT did not comment on pending litigation.
BT’s 2011 case against Google over six patents related to mobile technology has yet to be resolved.
