Regulators to Google: You can buy Motorola, but we still don't trust you
Google got exactly what it needed today to close the book on its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility. With approval from both US and European authorities, Google is set to acquire one of the biggest Android hardware makers and a portfolio of 17,000 patents.
But regulators on both sides of the pond went out of their way to warn Google not to abuse the patents, with the Justice Department comparing Google's patent statements unfavorably with what Justice views as more responsible statements made by Apple and Microsoft. In effect, regulators from both the US and Europe said there wasn't enough evidence to prevent Google's acquisition of Motorola today, but warned that Google's future actions could invite antitrust scrutiny.
Earlier today, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia was quoted as saying "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. … We might be obliged to open some cases in the future. This is not enough to block the merger but we will be vigilant."
