Google (GOOG) has approval from the United States Department of Justice and from the European Union to proceed with its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility (MMI). The Justice Department says its antitrust division has closed its investigation of the deal, having determined that it is “unlikely to substantially lessen competition.”
The DOJ as also closed two other investigations that impact the wireless industry. One is its investigation of the $4.5 billion purchase of some Nortel Networks patents by Rockstar Bidco, a partnership that includes Research in Motion (RIMM), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), and several other companies. The DoJ also closed its investigation of Apple’s purchase of patents held by CPTN, a holding company that acquired patents last April from Novell (NOVL) on behalf of Oracle (ORCL), Apple and EMC.
In scrutinizing these deals, the DoJ said it focused on standard essential patents, which device makers use to make smartphones and tablets that are compatible with industry standards like 3G. The DoJ wants to be sure that the companies that hold these patents do not charge excessive license fees that would prevent competitors from entering a market.
“The division’s concerns about the potential anticompetitive use of SEPs was lessened by the clear commitments by Apple and Microsoft to license SEPs on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, as well as their commitments not to seek injunctions in disputes involving SEPs,” the DoJ said in a press release.
On the other hand, the DoJ said that “Google’s commitments were more ambiguous and do not provide the same direct confirmation of its SEP licensing policies.”
Analyst Kevin Smithen of Macquarie Securities thinks that the union of Google and Motorola Mobility may actually make it easier for the government to keep watch. “It seems to us that they will aggressively monitor Google; only now, with Google and MMI under one corporate parent, it may even make it easier to monitor and, if need be, enforce any potential remedies,” Macquarie Securities wrote in a note to clients.
This decision by the Justice Department does not directly affect other patent disputes between the companies involved. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Motorola Mobility has demanded royalty fees from Apple of up to 2.25% of sales of some iPhones and iPads, claiming these products are using Motorola’s patented technology. And last Friday, Apple sued Motorola in California, saying the 4S has patent protection under a license agreement with Qualcomm (QCOM).
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