FTC and Google may be ready to settle ‘patent abuse’ investigation
Although earlier reports indicated that United States Federal Trade Commission was ready to sue Google for anticompetitive actions with the patents it acquired from Motorola, Politico is now reporting that the company has entered into talks with federal regulators and a settlement may be announced as soon as this week. Politico speculates that an agreement will force Google (GOOG) to license the industry essential patents it acquired from Motorola on fair, reasonable and nondiscrimination terms to competitors such as Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT). Politico’s sources note, however, that the final settlement may allow Google to continue seeking injunctions through court actions around the world.
The Federal Trade Commission has also been investigating Google over its business practices concerning its popular search engine. It has been alleged that the company has unfairly promoted its own services and buried results belonging to competitors.
The Commission is expected to rule on both of these matters by the end of the year.
