Skyhook Wireless is suing Google Inc., claiming that the company publicly represents Android as an open platform and then unfairly uses its exclusive oversight of the operating system to force manufacturers to use the Google Location Service.

Google built its Android OS with the goal of creating an open platform that carriers, manufacturers and developers can use to make their innovative ideas a reality. The platform was meant to ensure that no industry player can restrict or control the innovations of any other.

?I think we are reluctantly heading down this path,? said Ted Morgan, CEO of Skyhook. ?We want to be allowed to ship our technology on the devices we have contracted to ship on.

?Part of the complaint is about the loss of revenue and we expect Google to pay this money back,? he said. ?We have not gotten a response from Google.

?We tried to chat with them before we filed, but my sense was there was little interest in trying to work something out.?

XPS is a hybrid positioning engine that integrates the WiFi positioning system from Skyhook with other complementary location systems.

The XPS engine provides a single location source to applications and services, while at the same time leveraging the strengths of each underlying system.

Skyhook?s court filing claims that Google has notified manufacturers that they will need to use Google Location Service, either as a condition of the Android OS-OEM contract or as a condition of the Google Apps contract between Google and each manufacturer.

Even though Google claims the Android OS is open source, by requiring manufacturers to use Google Location Service, Google is effectively creating a closed system with respect to location positioning, per Skyhook.

The whole story
The lawsuit stems from a business partnership that Skyhook was working on with Motorola Inc., which has several devices that run on Android?s OS.

After a first suite of Skyhook-enabled Motorola products failed to launch, the companies continued negotiations until September 2009 when they finally entered into a licensing agreement.

According to Google, anyone is welcome to use Android source code, but if the device is not compatible, it is not considered part of the Android ecosystem.

Skyhook claims that the Motorola device met all of the requirements of Google?s Compliance Definition Document.

In exchange for Motorola?s use of XPS on Motorola?s Android wireless devices, Skyhook made significant concessions.

Motorola indicated that Skyhook would be an essential part of its plan to differentiate its Android wireless device lineup.

Right before the final execution of the contract, Motorola notified Skyhook that it had reviewed its contractual agreements with Google and determined no restrictions would prevent execution of the Motorola-Skyhook agreement.

Skyhook as a result invested more than $1.5 million into its relationship with Motorola in hopes for a fruitful ROI.

Things get ugly
On April 27, Skyhook issued a press release announcing its partnership with Motorola. That is when things got ugly.

Shortly after the release was issued, Andy Rubin, vice president of engineering and overseeing development of Android at Google, called Sanjay Jha, co-CEO of Motorola, several times to impose a ?stop ship? order on the device manufacturer.

This prevented Motorola from shipping Android devices featuring Skyhook?s XPS client software.

?As one means of cloaking its improper ?stop ship? order with an air of legitimacy, Google unreasonably and without justification claimed that embedding Skyhook?s XPS client software in the Android wireless devices would render the devices no longer Android-compatible,? the filing says.

?Google?s claim of non-compliance is unfounded and intended to single out Skyhook,? it says.  

Skyhook also claims that Google placed demands on Motorola and Skyhook to modify the platform to notify users that Skyhook collects certain data from devices ? and to do so in a way that inaccurately implied that Skyhook was collecting personally identifiable data.

Google also insisted that Motorola run Google Location Service and Skyhook?s XPS simultaneously on all Android wireless devices.

Skyhook claims Google wanted this done so that it could collect more and better location data because of XPS?s accuracy and precision.

Skyhook refused to meet Google?s demands and as a result Motorola shipped its mid-July device without XPS. 

?[Skyhook is asking the court for] a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and permanent injunction enjoining Google and its officers, directors, employees, attorneys, agents and representatives,? the filing says.

?[The company also seeks] money damages, with any interest if appropriate,? it says.

Google was asked to comment on this lawsuit. However the company was not yet served when this story was being written. Google's corporate communications said the company would not comment until it reviewed the complaint.

Final take
Giselle Tsirulnik is senior editor of Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily