FTC Probes Motorola Over Google Patent Practices – Report

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly investigating Google’s Motorola Mobility unit over claims that it is not fulfilling the licensing commitments it made when its patents were adopted as industry standards.

Google recently acquired Motorola Mobility in an £8 billion takeover as part of its efforts to “supercharge” the Android ecosystem. Motorola currently owns 17,500 patents with another 7,500 awaiting approval, and Google promised it would continue to offer them on reasonable terms.

Google patent deals extortionate?

However the FTC has now apparently sent investigative demands to companies this week asking them about Google patent practices over Motorola’s technology. The industry standards in question relate to Wi-Fi and video standards, a person familiar the matter has said.

Microsoft filed a complaint against Motorola Mobility with the European Commission in February, claiming the mobile manufacturer was using its FRAND patents to block product sales, an allegation also levelled by Apple.

The company said that Motorola had tried to block the sales of Windows PCs and Xbox game consoles, saying that it wanted extortionate royalties for using its patents, such as one necessary for the H.264 video standard.

Google is already the subject of an FTC investigation over claims that it is abusing its dominant position in the search engine space. It controls around 66 percent of the search market, and the EC has also expressed concerns about its practices. It recently wrote to Google urging it to find solutions that would address these concerns and restore competition to the sector.

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