Patent play was a recurring theme throughout 2011, and it's showing no sign of dissipating.

Indeed, news Google acquired a total of 217 patent filings from IBM during the last few days of December means the big beasts are continuing to build up their warchests. 

Tooling up

According to patent filing and whitepaper blog SEO By The Sea, it's the third patent exchange between the two companies since last July.

While it's not clear just how Google intends to employ its new library – a large number of the patents refer to either mobile or web-based apps – patents equal power in the mobile industry, with many believing Google's acquisition of Motorola was in part also motivated by a desire to up its patent haul.

"The patents cover a broad range of topics, such as presentation software, blade servers, data caching, server load balancing, network performance, video conferencing, email administration, and instant messaging applications," summarises blog president and founder Bill Slawski.

"A number of the patents cover specific internet, phone, and mobile phone technologies as well."

[source: SEO By The Sea]