‘Google’s Motorola purchase was to help protect Android ecosystem’


A Google senior executive expressed concerns about Korea’s Internet regulation policy on Tuesday, calling the controversial online real-name system “hasty.”

“We have some concerns about Korean Internet regulation,” said David Drummond, chief legal officer at Google.

“Our view is that you should be careful and move slowly when you think about breaking the openness about the Internet. The real name verification law was hasty and I think that’s an example that shows it’s moving in the right direction.”

The Constitutional Court ruled in August that the online real-name system, which was introduced in 2007 to block malicious postings and comments, was unconstitutional.

Drummond, who is also a senior vice president at the U.S.-based software giant, stressed that there needs to be a focus on openness and creativity involving the Internet.

“The more open the Internet is, the better,” he said in a press conference held on the sidelines of its global press conference dubbed Big Tent in southern Seoul. “One of the successes in the Internet sector in general has been the regulatory approach that things change rapidly.”

Drummond also said there were “a number of reasons” for acquiring electronics device maker Motorola Mobility.

“One of the reasons was to help us protect the Android ecosystem. We were very concerned about the use of patents, (that) software patents would stifle innovation,” he said. “If that were to go unchecked, that would drive innovation down and limit user choice.”

Motorola and Microsoft are currently engaged in a series of litigative battles over patent infringement claims in courtrooms with the most recent ruling coming out of a German court this week.

A regional court in Mannheim ruled in favor of Motorola and said the Google affiliate did not infringe a Microsoft patent which enables applications to work on different handsets.

“Android has been about the use of choice and competitors were using patents to stop that. We will use Motorola to combat that,” said Drummond.

When asked about his views on the global patent dispute staged by Samsung Electronics and Apple as a legal expert, he hesitated to give a personal opinion but said it is “very much about the Android software so we’re involved.”

“We would hope that the companies would offer innovation rather than litigation,” he said. “While we’re involved in this litigation, we will continue to help protect the Android ecosystem.”

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)