U.S approves Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility, that was fast…

Earlier we reported that the EU had given the green light to Google in their acquisition of Motorola Mobility. US approval was thought to happen in the next few weeks. In a surprising turn of events the U.S Department of Justice has given the ok to Google’s 12.5 billion dollar acquisition.

The acquisition isn’t just about Google gaining a hardware partner (Motorola) or Motorola gaining the creator of Android (Google), its about patents. Google stated last year before their quest to obtain Motorola began that they wanted Motorola for their patent portfolio. Also no secret is the fact that every major OEM on this planet has been in the middle of patent dispute with Apple. The thinking being that with Motorola Mobility owned by Google that Google could then leverage said patents to defend Android.

The European commission gave the green light to the merger because they felt that:

After a thorough review of the proposed transactions, the Antitrust Division has determined that each acquisition is unlikely to substantially lessen competition.

Google even had these words to say initially about the EU approving the merger:

As we outlined in August, the combination of Google and Motorola Mobility will help supercharge Android. It will also enhance competition and offer consumers faster innovation, greater choice and wonderful user experiences.

The DOJ will be watching this union closely to make sure that patents are being used fairly or the hammer, so to speak, could be dropped.

The DOJ also has this to say about Microsoft and RIM

With respect to RIM’s and Microsoft’s acquisition of Nortel patents, their low market shares in mobile platforms would likely make a strategy to harm rivals either through injunctions or supra-competitive royalties based on the acquired Nortel SEPs unprofitable.  Because of their low market shares, they are unlikely to attract a sufficient number of new customers to their mobile platforms to compensate for the lost patent royalty revenues.  Moreover, Microsoft has cross-license agreements in place with the majority of its Android-based OEM competitors, making such a strategy even less plausible for it.

Basically admitting that RIM and Microsoft’s market-share doesn’t make them a threat in regards to abusing Nortel patents. The only thing left to do is have China approve it but with the way things have been going, might just happen before the day is out! Ok, just kidding….maybe.