By Wall Street Journal
Google Inc. (GOOG) has snapped up 200 optical networking patents from Mosaid Technologies Inc., an intellectual-property firm that has roiled the technology industry and formed a licensing deal with Google rival Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
The patents, which could support Google's experimental effort to supply fiber networks for fast Internet connections, originated roughly a decade ago with Italian cable giant Pirelli Cavi e Sistemi SpA, according to public filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Founded in 1879, Pirelli Cavi e Sistemi originally specialized in submarine telegraph cables. It was a branch of the Pirelli Group, best known for its tires.
