FTC: Google to license patents, exclude snippets

FTC says Google to license patents, exclude snippets; no evidence of favoring own service

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. antitrust regulators say they have found no evidence to claims that Google unfairly favors its own services in search results.

The Federal Trade Commission also says Google is agreeing to license patents deemed to be "essential" for rival mobile devices such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad.

Regulators say Google is also promising that upon request, it will exclude snippets copied from other websites in its summaries of key information, even though the company had insisted the practice is legal under the fair-use provisions of U.S. copyright law.

The FTC is making the announcement at a news conference in Washington on Thursday.