Google’s $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility has cleared its last regulatory hurdle just as U.S. trade authorities have ruled that Motorola’s Android phones infringe on a Microsoft patent. The patent in question covers the use of contacts and e-mail addresses in scheduling appointments. Motorola will have to pay Microsoft 33 cents per Android device sold while it awaits Presidential review of the ITC order.
On Friday, the same day that the ITC issued the ruling, Motorola Mobility filed an 8-K stating that Google and Motorola Moblity are “moving to close the transaction within two business days.” China’s Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce was the one remaining regulatory agency that needed to clear the deal, and that approval apparently came last week.
Chinese authorities did place one restriction on their approval of the deal: a requirement that Google keep its Android operating system free and open source for the next five years. This insures that Motorola’s competitors in China and elsewhere will maintain access to Android. Widespread adoption of Android is of course positive for Google, but down the road this restriction could make it harder for Google to manage the Android ecosystem. As various manufacturers customize Android for their devices, they make it harder for application developers to create software that will be compatible with different Android devices. Without the ability to license Android, Google has less control over the proliferation of “forked Android” operating systems.
Motorola currently employs about 1,800 people, having let go about 4% of its workforce last fall after agreeing to be bought by Google. Speculation that Google will further reduce Motorola’s headcount began last summer when the deal was announced, and is percolating again now that the merger will finally be consummated.
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