It's still two weeks away from going on sale but already key tech companies such as Apple and Nokia may have the Nexus 7 tablet lined up as a target in the patent wars that have plagued Googles Android operating system for some time now.
This week Apple won an injunction in the US against Samsungs Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet that will ban that particular Android tablet being sold there. It also sought an injunction against another popular Android device, Googles own Galaxy Nexus smartphone.
In basic terms it simply means that if your phone or tablet can receive emails or texts which contain a phone number or maybe an email address, and then opens up an app to process that data (for example if you click on a phone number and your device dials it, or if it opens an email application for you to send an email to a received email address) then it is violating this patent.
This patent can be applied to any device that runs Android because it is the operating system itself that handles the data and thus the operating system, Android, that is violating the patent. HTC already fell foul of this same patent earlier this year and Samsung, Apples biggest single Android rival, is currently also being sued over what is better known as "the data tapping patent". Make no mistake this is a key weapon in Apples ongoing battle against Android and there is no reason for it to let the Nexus 7 off the hook.
Apple have a history of targeting top manufacturers of Android devices, particularly those it feels threatened by, and the Nexus 7 tablet will undoubtedly become the subject of a lawsuit at some point unless Google have Apples agreement to use the patent, or of course unless Google has neutered this ability on the new tablet which is highly unlikely.
The question is when will Apple strike?
Will they wait a while until the tablet has a good number of users then claim based on widespread infringement or will they make a move sooner rather than later as they tried just days before the launch of the Galaxy S3 smartphone where they tried to add it to an existing court case but instead found they would have to bring a seperate case against it?
History would suggest that because it's not a direct competitor with an Apple product, except the iPad which is of course a tablet but aimed at a slightly different target audience than Googles budget priced tablet is, the company will wait a few months and concentrate on their other existing lawsuits before then freeing up some of their key legal personnel to concentrate on Google and the Nexus 7 tablet.
But what about other patents that may be used against the new tablet?
Nokia own some patents tht involve the use of wifi 802.11 and is already suing some Android manufacturers over the violation of these patents. Most companies simply licence the patent rights from Nokia however Nokia confirmed that neither Google nor Asus (who make the new Nexus tablet) have such a licence which means that they are open to being sued over them when the tablet hits retail outlets in next month.
Then of course there is Microsoft who have asserted a number of patents as being used in Android products without permission and which have led to a surprising number of manufacturers paying royalties to the company in order to avoid a costly legal battle which they could lose.
Microsoft have tablets coming out in the near future, Apple may have a mini ipad coming out and Nokia announced last month that they plan to bring out their own tablets so all three companies have not only the patents and finances for a large legal battle but the incentive to start one in order to protect their interests.
The Nexus 7 tablet faces the wrath of some of the tech industries wealthiest and most influential players, it would be nice to think they can come to an arrangement but in the case of at least one of these companies history shows this is unlikely and Google risks being singled out more than others thanks to it now encroaching on the tablet territory of players such as Apple.
