The environment over at Motorola HQ must have been pretty good lately now that Google has been given approval by the EU to move ahead with its purchase of the company, but I imagine things just got sour as the EU has launched an antitrust probe over Motorola’s patents.
The investigation into Motorola by the EU’s antitrust authorities kicked off after both Apple and Microsoft complained that the company allegedly abused standard-essential patents. Microsoft claims, for instance, that Motorola impeded “fair access” to several patents that the company says is “fundamental” to device function.
The branch of Motorola involved in the making of handsets holds several patents that are licensed by competitors–such as Apple and Microsoft–to ensure cross-brand compatibility. According to EU law, “standard-essential” patents are required to be fairly licensed to competitors, and a company must not discriminate based on brand.
“Following complaints by Apple and Microsoft, the Commission will investigate, in particular, whether by seeking and enforcing injunctions against Apple’s and Microsoft’s flagship products such as iPhone, iPad, Windows and Xbox on the basis of patents it had declared essential to produce standard-compliant products, Motorola has failed to honour its irrevocable commitments made to standard setting organisations,” the group said in a press release.
Should the antitrust probe find that Motorola was, in fact, violating laws regarding the enforcement of standard-essential patents, the company could be faced with a fine of as much as 10 percent of its annual income. Considering that Google will soon be acquiring Motorola, it isn’t clear whether or not the search giant would have to foot the bill.
“We haven’t finalized our acquisition of Motorola Mobility, but will work with the European Commission to answer any questions they might have,” said Google spokesman Al Verney. “We have long-standing concerns about patent abuses, including lawsuits and royalty demands targeting the Android ecosystem.”
via Engadget , AP
