Software patents are hurting consumers by suppressing the works of innovation, Google's chief lawyer Kent Walker said.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Walker said that smartphone industry was an arms race of patents that was leaving the firm to sort through the mess of litigation.

Speaking on the topic, he said, "Software patents are kind of gumming up the works of innovation."

Google’s has so far been dragged to court at least six times by database companies like Oracle, which claim that the Internet search giant’s Android operating system infringe their intellectual properties.

Handset manufacturers like Samsung and HTC are facing claims from a number of companies like Microsoft, which claims that their Android-based devices infringe on its software patents.

Meanwhile, Google is trying to purchase intellectual property that could be used as a defense against litigation. The world’s biggest Internet search engine also called on Congress and the Federal Trade Commission to rein in lawsuits.