Google to pay $5 million for Linux patent infringement

Google will be fined a record $5 million by Bedrock, a Texas-based company, for infringing a Linux kernel-related patent.

Analysts are confident that Google's court victory could set a precedent for future patent disputes that could harm major IT companies.

The lawsuit against Google also named other internet giants, including Yahoo!, MySpace, Amazon.com, PayPal, and AOL. The lawsuit was filed back in 2009. Bedrock accused the defendants of infringing U.S. Patent No. 5,893,120, which was issued in 1997 for data retrieval technology.

In the same year, 2009, Red Hat filed a lawsuit against Bedrock, demanding that the company's patent be declared invalid.

Google is also currently suing Oracle for patent infringement, accusing the internet company of infringing its Java-related patents used in Android. Google has dismissed Oracle's claims as baseless.