But it has been held back, in part, by a legal challenge over infringing on software patents belonging to a smaller American company, Intertrust, which was acquired in late 2002 by Sony and Philips.
Most notably a US jury proposed Samsung should pay Apple a $1.05bn £650mm) fine for infringing several software patents, and the look and feel of the iPhone.
BLOOMBERG NEWS Google Gets a Mixed Verdict on Oracle | A jury said that while Google had broadly infringed on software copyrights held by Oracle, the company had not violated other parts of Java, Oracle's software, meaning Google would not have to redesign its Android operating system, The New York Times reports.
Microsoft contends that Google's Android infringes its software patents but so far has pursued handset makers rather than Google itself for payment of royalties.
A federal jury in East Texas decided on Wednesday that Microsoft and Autodesk should pay a Michigan technology company $133 million for infringing on two software patents.
In August Apple won a $1.049 billion patent damages ruling against Samsung for infringing design and software patents.
In May, a start-up company he founded, Findthebest.com, got a letter from a Connecticut law firm explaining that it had filed a lawsuit accusing the start-up of infringing an obscure software patent and offering to discuss an out-of-court settlement.
You may be thinking, "Big deal — I'll register if and when someone infringes on my software and I need to file a lawsuit". But if an infringement occurs, you'll want to register in a hurry so you can file your suit — and "expedited registration" costs several hundred dollars extra.
Seagate sued Storage Computer, contending that the Nashua, N.H., company's storage devices and software infringed Seagate's patent on error detection and correction systems.
