Google offers support to Android firms in lawsuits

Google will continue to offer support to firms using its Android system that are involved in legal disputes, its executive chairman Eric Schmidt said, as the Internet giant looks to cement alliances in the face of toughening competition.

Schmidt, wrapping up a three-city Asian tour in Taipei, also threw an olive branch to China, with whom Google fell out over hacking and censorship disputes, saying the company "wanted to serve China's citizens within the limits the government allowed." "We tell our partners, including the ones here in Taiwan, we will support them. For example we have been supporting HTC in its dispute with Apple because we think that the Apple thing is not correct," Schmidt told reporters during his first visit to Taipei. The support takes the form of information sharing, industry expertise and access to Google's patents for licensing and legal purposes, Schmidt said.