Any antitrust concerns about Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility were satisfied in Europe and the United States today. Regulatory hurdles were cleared when the European Union and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division each approved Google’s purchase of the telecom unit.
The deal bolsters Google’s patent portfolio, and is anticipated to add substantial value to the company’s Android mobile operating system.
But Google cannot claim that is the only tech giant who came out ahead today at the DOJ.
Apple scored a double in its ongoing patent litigation slugfest when the DOJ also approved the Cupertino-based company’s acquisition of various Nortel Networks and Novell patents. The former Canadian giant Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009.
Microsoft and Research In Motion also received approval from the DOJ’s antitrust unit to acquire Nortel patents sold during the company’s bankruptcy proceedings.
Today’s regulatory hurdles are just a temporary win in the ongoing patent wars being waged by Apple, Google, Samsung, and other mobile tech giants.
