Google has bid $900m for about 6,000 of patents put up for sale by the bankrupt Canadian communications equipment maker Nortel.
Nortel Networks had filed for bankruptcy in 2009, and had agreed to liquidate all its assets later.
As Google’s Android OS for smartphones has gained popularity, the search engine company has found itself in focus for patent infringement by its competitors.
The search engine company has said in its blog that the move to buy patents from Nortel is a defensive measure against patent litigation.
The company hopes that having a large number of patents will give it the flexibility to develop more products and services.
Google said, "But as things stand today, one of a company’s best defenses against this kind of litigation is (ironically) to have a formidable patent portfolio, as this helps maintain your freedom to develop new products and services."
"Google is a relatively young company, and although we have a growing number of patents, many of our competitors have larger portfolios given their longer histories."
Federal law allows other bidders to submit their offers.
