A suit filed in a Massachusetts court by Skyhook Wireless is ostensibly a battle with Google over location-based services. But the ramifications are far greater, writes ^[1]New York Time ^[1]s’s Steve Lohr ^[1]. In the suit, Skyhook, a pioneer in location-based services for mobile phones is alleging that Google’s assertion of “compatibility compliance issues” for handset makers is a thinly veiled attempt to squelch competition in the space.

Boston-based Skyhook had previously secured an agreement with Motorola last April, when the company switched gears and reversed that decision in July, says Lohr. Samsung, which also had agreement with Skyhook, also followed suit in July after Google raised its concerns.

And while the case will no doubt take many twists and turns, a central lesson, here, says Lohr, is how Google has handled the paper trail. Unlike in Microsoft Corp’s numerous lawsuits, emails from the Google case, released during discovery, show Google to be a company well aware of the importance of crafting appropriate  language and managing it in business communications. Lohr cites a June email in which a Google colleague offers to dig up details on Skyhook. The response from Google partner manager Patrick Brady: “PLEASE DO NOT! Thread-kill and talk to me off-line with any questions.” Lessons learned, indeed. Read more at NYTimes.com ^[1].