Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Reports: FTC investigates Google over Motorola patents

The FTC is looking into whether Motorola is keeping its word to license standard technology to others in a fair manner, according to reports

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is investigating Google's Motorola Mobility unit to determine whether it is stifling innovation in the mobile market by refusing to license certain patents to its competitors, according to published reports.

The FTC's formal probe focuses on pledges Motorola Mobility has made to license to other companies on fair terms industry-standard mobile technology it owns, Bloomberg reported.

The FTC sent Google the civil investigative demand because the agency is concerned about the antitrust implications of Motorola Mobility's licensing of this technology, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Google recently closed its US$12.5 billion Motorola Mobility acquisition after the U.S. Justice Department and other regulatory agencies gave the deal a green light.

The Journal and Bloomberg, which attributed the information in their articles to anonymous sources, received a statement from Google saying that the company takes its "commitments to license on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms very seriously and are happy to answer any questions."

According to Bloomberg, the FTC is also seeking information from Microsoft, Apple and others about Google's intentions to license some specific mobile technologies on fair and reasonable terms.

Juan Carlos Perez covers enterprise communication/collaboration suites, operating systems, browsers and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Juan on Twitter at @JuanCPerezIDG.

Recommended

  1. Where is IT outsourcing heading in 2013?

  2. Australian government releases big data issues paper

  3. More Australians are using mobiles to connect to ...

    CMO

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

Comments are now closed.
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Accelerate Cloud and Composite Application Delivery
    Are your requirements the need for faster release cycles, you have reduced budgets required to run and manage a complex test environment, and you want to decrease your third party expenses? HP Service Virtualisation, designed to enable your teams to create, develop and test against virtual services that simulate real service behaviour with no constraints, available anytime.
    Learn more »
  • Best Practices for Migrating to SharePoint 2013
    This white paper details a number of best practices for migrating to SharePoint 2013. These best practices also apply to migrations to most earlier versions of SharePoint. Download now.
    Learn more »
  • Advanced Malware Exposed
    This handbook shines a light on the dark corners of advanced malware, both to educate as well as to spark renewed efforts against these stealthy and persistent threats. By understanding the tools being used by criminals, we can better defend our nations, our critical infrastructures and our citizens. This ebook will provide readers with a new understanding of the rapidly developing cyber threat landscape and practical insights into how they can protect their data and computing infrastructures. Download now.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments