Google Is Suing Rockstar By Staff Reporter | Dec 27, 2013 11:20 AM EST Google is striking back against Rockstar, filing a lawsuit this week against the patent holding company that previously sued Mountain View and a number of Android device makers for allegedly infringing on intellectual property. In its suit, Google is seeking a judgment that would shield itself as well as its affiliates from future patent litigation concerning the Android platform. As outlined in the court filing, Rockstar is essentially a dummy corporation owned jointly by several of the worldâs largest tech players, including Apple. Its sole purpose is in leveraging the patent portfolio once owned by the now-defunct firm Nortel Networks to sue players in the Android business:âIn June 2011, five of the worldâs largest technology companies â including Google competitors Apple, Research In Motion, and Microsoft â joined forces to obtain a portfolio of patents auctioned during the bankruptcy of Nortel Networks. Bankrolled by these companies, a manufactured entity called âRockstar Bidcoâ placed the winning bid of $4.5 billion. According to Appleâs June 2011 Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple contributed âapproximately $2.6 billionâ of that sum.â Google isnât mincing any words here. The company goes on to basically call Rockstar a patent troll, which it is for all intents and purposes.âRockstar produces no products and practices no patents. Instead, Rockstar employs a staff of engineers in Ontario, Canada, who examine other companiesâ successful products to find anything that Rockstar might use to demand and extract licenses to its patents under threat of litigation,â reads the filing.In the filing, Google specifically points to a number of Android devices, including the Nexus line and several OEM manufacturers who Mountain View claims have been unfairly targeted with patent lawsuits.Recently, the Supreme Court said it would review whether to abolish software patents in general, which would certainly render Googleâs lawsuit moot, not to mention Rockstar.