Google To Pledge Reasonable Terms For Motorola Patents

Google Inc. (GOOG) plans to send letters to dozens of different standards organizations in a bid to reassure them that the Internet giant would license Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.'s (MMI) patents on reasonable terms should the planned merger between the two firms close, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Google intends to make clear to the organizations that it would license Motorola's many patents in accordance with so-called FRAND, or fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, the person said. Such terms are often expected of members in standards bodies.

The Mountain View, Calif., Internet giant's letter comes after Motorola enforced an injunction that temporarily interrupted online sales of some Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhones and iPads in Germany last week. The injunction, which was handed down by a local court there, covered Apple's mobile devices that allegedly infringed on Motorola's mobile communications patents. The injunction was lifted within a day.

Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. At the time of the injunction, however, the company said Motorola "repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms."

Similar complaints led the European Commission to open an antitrust probe against Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.SE, SSNHY) for suing Apple for allegedly infringing on its wireless patents. Some of Samsung's patents, like Motorola's, have been contributed to industry groups to help build technical standards. As a result, it too was expected to offer licenses to any company on a fair and reasonable basis. Samsung has said it expects the European Commission will find it complies with the rules.

Google said in August it would purchase Motorola for $12.5 billion in part for its trove of more than 17,000 patents, which it could use to defend itself against a lawsuits aimed at its Android mobile software.

Google is in the midst of an antitrust reviews of its Motorola purchase in the U.S. and Europe. The European Commission has set a Feb. 13 provisional deadline for issuing a decision on the matter.

Android, which is the most widely used mobile operating system on the planet, powers mobile devices made by HTC Corp. (HTCXF, 2498.TW), Motorola and Samsung, among others, and contains features that companies such as Apple and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) have sued over saying they violate patents.

The Internet giant has already shown its willingness to use patents in its continuing proxy battles with its rivals. In the summer of last year, two weeks before Google announced it was acquiring Motorola, David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer, said the company was going to strengthen its patent portfolio because Android's rivals were unfairly using patent litigation to limit competition.

Shortly thereafter, HTC sued Apple in a Delaware court and with the International Trade Commission, using patents it obtained from Google. The patents, which relate to technology used to upgrade software and load applications, among others.

-By Ian Sherr, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6455; ian.sherr@dowjones.com

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