Antitrust officials probing sale of patents to Google’s rivals

It’s not often that search giant Google looks like the little guy. But in a move unprecedented in the tech world, six of Google’s rivals -- including Apple, Microsoft and Research in Motion -- combined forces recently to prevent the company from buying a critical trove of patents.

Federal antitrust enforcers are scrutinizing whether Google, often accused of abusing its Web search power, is facing an unfair coalition of companies that could block its popular Android mobile phone software. More worrying, according to some experts, the $4.5 billion auction of Nortel Network’s remaining patents demonstrates the growing dysfunction of the country’s patent system, where even the most amorphous ideas can be rubber-stamped by the government and protected for years. Companies are increasingly arming themselves with ever-growing patent portfolios to initiate or shield themselves from costly lawsuits. The result, these experts say, is tantamount to a nuclear weapons standoff: Companies with formidable patent portfolios can use them as cudgels against rivals, while those with fewer patents risk being eaten alive in court.