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Google fires back at BT with patent infringement suits of its own

Google fires back at BT with patent infringement suits of its own

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Back in 2011 British Telecom filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Google, accusing almost all of Google's services and products of infringing its intellectual property. In a pattern that's become all too familiar, however, Google has now filed its own lawsuit in return. Reuters is reporting that the search giant has filed suit both in the United States and in the UK, accusing various BT entities of infringing four separate Google patents — some of which cover the likes of internet-based phone calls and networking.

"We have always seen litigation as a last resort, and we work hard to avoid lawsuits," Google spokesperson Niki Fenwick told Reuters. "But BT has brought several meritless patent claims against Google and our customers - and they've also been arming patent trolls." BT's 2011 lawsuit against Google still remains unresolved, and the new accusations could give Google some additional leverage if the company's hoping to deal with BT without going to court. In the meantime, however, it appears the conflict between the two entities is not going away anytime soon.