• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, March 6, 2012

Putting Google in the crosshairs, a U.S. judge just ordered the search giant and Motorola Mobility to turn over information to Apple on Google's acquisition of Android, its development of the Android operating system, and its proposed acquisition of Motorola.

The decision by U.S. Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner came in a patent lawsuit filed in 2010 by Apple against Motorola Mobility, which, as Bloomberg notes, has since countersued.

“The development,” as MacRumors writes, “is a key one for its impact on drawing Google into the patent fight that has until now mostly seen the company staying in the background of the Android-iOS patent disputes with Apple going head-to-head with hardware manufacturers.” 

According to Business Insider: “This would be a banner day for Steve Jobs, who maintained that Android was ‘grand theft’ of iOS and said, ‘I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong.’”

To date, “Apple has been fighting a proxy war with Google, suing the makers of Android handsets for various patent infringements as it can't take on Google itself,” The Register reports. “But once Google acquires Motorola then the proxy war is over, which is why Apple is so keen to get the details.”

“This is notable, because Apple is actually going after Google with this request,” remarks 9to5Mac. “It is the first direct in the ongoing legal war considering Apple fought Google by proxy in the past.”

“It will be interesting to see what comes out of the case, especially given that it's not currently clear exactly how much detail has been requested,” Gizmodo notes.

What’s the end for Apple? “Looking ahead, there's no telling what either Apple or Motorola is hoping to achieve with their lawsuits,” CNet writes. “In earlier rulings, neither side has been able to win a decisive victory, and in most cases, simple workarounds ensure products stay on store shelves. The chances of that changing this time around seem slim right now.”