US Set to Clear Google-Motorola Deal

(NewsCore) - The US Justice Department is poised to clear Google Inc.'s $12.5-billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. as early as next week, according to people familiar with the matter, giving Google a powerful armory of technology patents to deploy in the smartphone wars.

However, antitrust enforcers in the US and Europe remain concerned about Google's commitment to license key Motorola patents to competitors on fair terms, those people said, and are likely to closely monitor Google's use of the patents. The European Commission has set a deadline of Monday to decide whether to approve the acquisition.

The Justice Department is also set to clear a second big tech patent deal that has raised antitrust concerns in the smartphone industry. It will allow a consortium of tech companies including Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Research In Motion Ltd. to acquire a trove of patents from bankrupt Canadian telecom equipment maker Nortel Networks for $4.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

Investigators had been looking at whether those tech giants were planning to use the patents to unfairly hobble competing smartphones using Google's Android software.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.