U.S. Department of Justice Approves Motorola Acquisition by Google, Nortel Patents Purchase by Rockstar Bidco Too

Hours after we learned that the European Commission had approved Google’s acquisition of Motorola, the U.S. Department of Justice has done the same. We are inching closer to this deal becoming finalized (pending China) and a world rid of bootloaders. OK, I just made that last bit up, but one can have high hopes, can’t he?

The DoJ claimed that after their investigation into the merger, that it is “unlikely to substantially lessen competition” even though Google clearly purchased Motorola for their patent portfolio. However, if they are to get out of line with licensing deals, the hammer would be dropped – in some shape or form.

In related news, the DoJ also cleared the bid by Rockstar Bidco for the Nortel patent bundle. Not familiar with Rockstar Bidco? It’s a group of tech companies that put together a massive bid for a batch of patents owned by bankrupt Canadian company, Nortel. The group is made up of Apple, Microsoft and RIM to name a few. That’s right, Google is not involved and many of these patents are telecommunications-based and should be of concern.

Via:  DoJ, CNET

Cheers CG!