AppleInsider Staff
The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported that Google is thinking about settling a potential antitrust claim by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission regarding the use of Motorola patents, which the company allegedly used as weapons against rival mobile phone makers likeApple.
According to two people familiar with the situation, Google is contemplating a settlement of an FTC investigation that is probing whether the company purposely refused to license industry essential patents to competing mobile device makers, and in some cases leveraged the IP to seek injunctions.
The FTC in June began investigating Google's use of patents it acquired after purchasing Motorola in May.
Following the buyout, the internet search giant continued to press forward with a number of existing lawsuits, including possibly anticompetitive litigation regarding standards-essential FRAND patents.
One of the sources noted that the FTC had threatened to bring a case against Google over alleged unfair business practices involving the use of Motorola's IP against rival mobile device makers like Apple and Microsoft. During discussions, the agency's lawyers cited a number of cases in which the Google subsidiary possibly violated FRAND terms.
Google reportedly argued that competitors currently holding FRAND patents also violated their duties in bringing suit against Motorola and others, including filings from Apple. The company went on to say that if a settlement was reached, it would be left defenseless as rivals push forward with their own FRAND claims.
In a surprise move earlier in October, Motorola withdrew an ITC complaint against Apple without explanation. At the time, speculation suggested the move was either a goodwill gesture or a determination by Google that the suit was unlikely to succeed.
Christine McKee
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34 Comments
How much could this possibly cost Google/Moto? Is the Moto acquisition beginning to unravel?
The whole point to FRAND is that it is meant to (1) prevent technologies employed by a particular industry such as telecommunications from being fragmented and in doing so permit standards to be developed and (2) reward those companies whose IP becomes part of the standard. Google would have fully realized this and finally, that realisation has hit home.
Oooh, boy.
If Google settles then what will all the haters have to say? They seem to think it's OK to abuse SEP's or ask for royalty rates based on the final selling price of a device simply because big, bad Microsoft or evil Apple are on the receiving end.
How would they be able to spin this so they could keep believing MS and Apple are the bad guys? Maybe imply that they paid off the judges? Bribed FTC officials? Spent millions on lobbying? Paid for college educations for their kids?
The Moto $12B purchase will have to be written on. The FRAND patents are not worth that kind of money and manufacturing is a money loosing bottomless pit. There is no way that Moto can compete with the likes of Samsung that are vertically integrated or cut rate Chinese Android phone makes like Lenovo or Huwei. Did the management of Google due their due diligence? Everybody and their mutt in this board knows about FRAND patents.
12.5 billion down the drain.