US will green light Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility

ADVERTISING BROKER Google will get the green light from the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to complete its $12.5bn buyout of Motorola Mobility.

Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility and its all-important hoard of 16,000 patents rests on approval by the US DoJ and the European Commission. According to the Wall Street Journal, the US DoJ is expected to green light Google's purchase of Motorola Mobility as early as next week.

Earlier this week Google wrote to the European Commission saying it intends to fairly license Motorola Mobility's patents portfolio should the deal go through. It seems Google's willingness to license patents rather than use them to try to block rival products has appeased the US DoJ.

Smartphone software vendors such as Apple, Microsoft and Google have all come out this week and talked about the need for a fair and reasonable non-discriminatory (FRAND) agreement in place for patent licensing. The reason Apple and Microsoft joined in is due to the DoJ looking over their bid for Nortel Networks' patents, which is also set to be given the green light according to the WSJ.

Google's $12.5bn acquisition of Motorola Mobility still needs the European Commission's approval, but the acquisition represented the high point of last year's patent bubble. Many felt the advertising giant overpaid for Motorola's handset spin-off, but Google desperately needs to bolster its patent portfolio, not because it needs the extra cash from licensing but to protect itself and its Android partners from litigation.

The European Commission is expected to deliver its ruling on Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility early next week, possibly coinciding with the US DoJ announcement. µ