Microsoft hit back at Google's patent allegations Wednesday night, arguing that it asked Google to jointly bid on the Novell patents.
"Google says we bought Novell patents to keep them from Google. Really? We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no," Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith tweeted last night.
Frank X. Shaw, corporate communications lead for Microsoft, also tweeted what he said was an email from Google general counsel Kent Walker, declining a joint bid on the Novell patents.
"Free advice for David Drummond – next time check with Kent Walker before you blog," Shaw wrote.
The email in question, dated October 28, quotes Walker as saying: "After talking with people here, it sounds as though for various reasons a joint bid wouldn't be advisable for us on this one. But I appreciate your flagging it, and we're open to discussing other similar opportunities in the future."
The tweets came in response to a blog post from David Drummond, senior vice president and chief legal officer at Google, in which he accused Apple, Microsoft, and other tech giants of trying to "strangle" Android with its coordinated patent purchases.
"We thought it was important to speak out and make it clear that we're determined to preserve Android as a competitive choice for consumers, by stopping those who are trying to strangle it," Drummond wrote.
Drummond specifically called out the Novell deal, as well as a recent coordinated purchase of Nortel patents.
Last month, a consortium of tech rivals purchased 6,000 wireless technology patents held by Nortel. Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research in Motion, and Sony joined forces to purchase the patents, which cover wireless, wireless 4G, data networking, optical, voice, Internet, service provider, semiconductors, and other patent portfolios. In April, Google said it would make a "stalking horse" bid worth $900 million for the Nortel patents in order to bulk up its patent portfolio. But rivals like Microsoft, AT&T, and Verizon argued that the patents would give the search giant an unfair advantage, and Google eventually lost out.
Microsoft and Apple also teamed up to purchase patents from Novell, along with Oracle and EMC. The Justice Department, however, required them to alter the deal because "as originally proposed, the deal would jeopardize the ability of open source software, such as Linux, to continue to innovate and compete in the development and distribution of server, desktop, and mobile operating systems, middleware, and virtualization products," DOJ said.
"Microsoft and Apple have always been at each other’s throats, so when they get into bed together you have to start wondering what's going on," Google's Drummond quipped yesterday.
Drummond suggested that Microsoft, Oracle, Apple, and others are waging " a hostile, organized campaign against Android." They went after the Novell patents "to make sure Google didn't get them" and are "fighting through litigation ... instead of competing by building new features or devices."
In an update to his original blog post, Drummond accused Microsoft of trying to "divert attention by pushing a false 'gotcha!' while failing to address the substance of the issues we raised."
It should be "obvious" why Google turned down Microsoft's offer of a joint bid," he said. "Microsoft's objective has been to keep from Google and Android device-makers any patents that might be used to defend against their attacks. A joint acquisition of the Novell patents that gave all parties a license would have eliminated any protection these patents could offer to Android against attacks from Microsoft and its bidding partners."
"Making sure that we would be unable to assert these patents to defend Android — and having us pay for the privilege — must have seemed like an ingenious strategy to them. We didn't fall for it," Drummond continued.
And, continuing the tit-for-tat, Microsoft's Frank Shaw responded Thursday afternoon. "Hello again David Drummond," Shaw tweeted. "This is going to take a few tweets, so here we go. Let's look at what Google does not dispute in their reply.
"We offered Google the opportunity to bid with us to buy the Novell patents; they said no," Shaw wrote, in a statement spanning several tweets. "SO partnering with others & reducing patent liability across industry is not something they wanted to help do. Why? BECAUSE they wanted to buy something that they could use to assert against someone else."
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 3:14 pm Pacific with comment from Microsoft's Shaw. Additional reporting by Mark Hachman.