10 Weird Patents That Google Owns

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt once noted that the
patent system, originally designed to protect inventors,
had degenerated into a swamp of lawsuits and
creativity-killing delays. "These patent wars are death,"
he said in a 2012 chat at New York City's 92nd Street
Y. "Everyone can find a prior art for everything. So the
new trick is to get judges to block devices country by
country. It's bad for innovation" [source: Ngak].
That aversion makes it all the more remarkable that
Google has become one of the most prolific applicants
for patents around. MIT Technology Review reported in
2013 that Google's brain trust of scientists and
engineers was winning about 10 patents every day that
the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office is open for business.
Indeed, the company has become one of the top 10
patent recipients in the U.S. [source: Regalado].
Technology Review theorized Google quietly changed its
view on patents to protect its Android operating system
for mobile devices, after seeing the way that Apple did
the same when it introduced the iPhone in 2007.
Many of its patents cover Android , as well as the search
engine technology and other services that have been
Google's bread and butter. Others have to do with
game-changing future gadgetry that the Internet giant
is developing, such as driverless robotic cars. But
Google's innovation machine is also churning out even
edgier innovations, many that might leave you
scratching your head.
Here's a sample of 10 of the weirdest patents that
Google has sought in recent years.