Google Inc is going on the offensive to fight patent claims, a strategy the Internet-search company says will deter frivolous lawsuits.
The number of patent challenges against Google rose to 14 last year, from 11 in 2007 and three in 2006. The company wants to curb that growth by fighting rather than settling lawsuits, said Catherine Lacavera, Google’s senior litigation counsel.
“I would love to say we’re seeing a leveling off of patent filings,” Lacavera said in an interview. “It’s our hope this will serve as a deterrent.”
Google, which currently has 24 patent cases pending, didn’t settle any patent challenges last year, after resolving cases in each of the previous four years, according to federal court dockets. It’s a risky strategy, said Alan Fisch, a patent lawyer at Kaye Scholer in Washington.
