“Google Inc won unconditional EU regulatory approval on Monday for its planned $12.5 billion purchase of mobile handset maker Motorola Mobility,” Foo Yun Chee reports for Reuters.
“But the European Commission said it would monitor the company and rivals’ use of patents to ensure they comply with EU antitrust rules,” Chee reports. “‘This merger decision should not and will not mean that we are not concerned by the possibility that, once Google is the owner of this portfolio, Google can abuse these patents, linking some patents with its Android devices. This is our worry,’ EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters.”
“A European Commission official said the regulator noted a pledge by Google last week to standard-setting agencies to license Motorola patents on fair and reasonable terms if the deal were to succeed, but that the promise was not a decisive element in its decision,” Chee reports. “The U.S. Justice Department is expected to approve the acquisition this week, sources told Reuters last week.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The viability of Microsoft’s Windows Phone just increased.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “buddabob” for the heads up.]