(CNN) -- Open warfare between technology giants is nothing new, but when Google this week announced it was acquiring Motorola's mobile division, the conflict over mobile phones went nuclear.
Behind the headlines of the $12.5 billion deal, say analysts, is a Cold War-style arms race, with leading firms racing to stockpile the patents that will serve as weapons of mutually-assured destruction.
But as Google squares off against Apple, Microsoft and the creators of BlackBerry, the question is: will anyone benefit from this escalation in potential hostilities or, like the standoff between America and the Soviet Union, will it ultimately prove futile?
Industry observers say Google's latest deal, which saw it pay a 63% premium on shares, is primarily aimed at laying its hands on Motorola's arsenal of patents -- legally protected innovations built up over years at the frontline of cell phone development.
Most of these estimated 24,000 patents have little intrinsic value, says Lee Simpson, a London-based analyst at Jeffries International, but a core 500 or so represent the mother lode, giving Google ownership of key cellular communication technology.
And it is these patents that Google will turn to should it be accused of stealing Apple's own legally-protected iPhone innovations to enhance Google's Android operating system -- a software now used on many popular handsets.
Apple upgraded its arsenal last month when it jointly with Microsoft led a $4.5 billion consortium buy up of the bankrupt Nortel Corp. The deal, giving access to 6,000 key communications technology patents, was at the time seen as a blow to Android.
Intellectual property analyst Florian Mueller last month said at least 45 lawsuits currently surround Android and according to Simpson, with Android gaining market dominance, an attack from Apple on an exposed Google was seen as inevitable.
"The reason why Google has gone after this is that Apple is going to become aggressive and until now, Android has had a soft underbelly, with very little patent protection," Simpson said.
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