FORTUNE — It was Google (GOOG) against the world last month, as it fought and lost patent battles directly or by proxy with Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Nokia (NOK), HTC and ZTE. “Google shoot blanks in smartphone patent wars,” wrote Thomson Reuters’ Reynolds Holding. Or as The Verge’s Nilay Patel put it: “Does anyone know why Google bought Motorola?”
FOSS Patent‘s Florian Mueller has been keeping score, and by his count Google’s Android and its standards-essential-patent (SEP)-heavy Motorola subsidiary suffered seven major defeats in April, two medium losses, two medium wins and one minor slow-down:
- Medium win for Google: Apple’s slide-to-unlock patent invalidated in Germany (decision is appealable)
- Medium loss for Google: Corrected ITC ruling finds Android’s text selection to infringe two more claims of an Apple patent
- Minor issue for Google’s Motorola: Florida judge slows down multi-patent case that’s more important to Google than to Apple
- Major defeat for Google and Samsung: Apple defeats Samsung in California claim construction battle on all patents but one SEP
- Major defeat for Google: Foxconn parent Hon Hai signs with Microsoft: 20th royalty-bearing Android patent license deal
- Major defeat for Google’s Motorola: Setback for Google: German court finds Microsoft licensed to Motorola’s push notification patent
- Major defeat for Google: Court-determined FRAND rate for Motorola’s standard-essential patents is a blow to Google
- Medium win for Google and HTC: German court dismisses (another) Nokia lawsuit against HTC targeting Google Play
- Major defeat for Google: ZTE becomes 20th device maker to take Android patent license from Microsoft
- Major defeat for Google: German appeals court stays Google v. Apple case over (likely invalid) push notification patent
- Major defeat for Google’s Motorola: Google loses appeal against Microsoft’s German injunction over multi-part text message interface
- Medium loss for Google and Samsung: Apple prevailed over Samsung on post-trial procedures: limited retrial in November
DISCLOSURE: Although I’ve always found his legal reporting to be fair and accurate, it should be noted that Mueller does paid consulting work for Microsoft and Oracle (ORCL), both of which have faced off against Google in patent court.
