U.S. Expected To Approve Google-Motorola Deal

Home > U.S. Expected To Approve Google-Motorola Deal

Author: John Duckgeischel on February 8, 2012 - 11:20 PM

As soon as next week, it is widely anticipated by industry experts that the U.S. Justice Department will approve Google’s $12.5 billion buy of Motorola. The acquisition of Motorola brings with it a treasure trove of smartphone technology patents. Anti-trust officials in both Europe and the U.S. will be closely watching fair licensing practices by Google for Motorola-based patents as they are licensed to the competition. The European Commission is set to give its ruling on the acquisition on Monday. Government officials have observed a high number of patent related lawsuits by high profile companies including Apple, HTC, Motorola and Samsung especially pertaining to Wi-Fi and 3G communication technology.

Many technology companies have agreed to patent licensing guidelines known as FRAND, which is an acronym for air, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms. Microsoft is the most recent example of a technology company expressing its willingness to license its FRAND patents in an equitable manner. Apple has promised to take a reasonable approach to licensing its patents as well. Cisco has backed Apple’s position for open licensing, stating that “the telecommunications industry would benefit from a more consistent and transparent application of FRAND." Both industry observers as well as government officials will be watching to see if Google and other technology giants will follow through with their many promises to abide by fair patent licensing.

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Comments

Merger is a positive move

Motorola has been struggling to get back on track for the last several years. Google's forward thinking management is just what is needed. To me it looks like this merger is mutually beneficial.

Posted By George Hever on 02/09/2012 8:30 AM

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