In a statement from the United States Department of Justice clearing Google’s acquisition of Motorola, the DOJ also closed its investigations into Apple’s acquisition of certain Novell patents, and the Apple, Microsoft, and RIM acquisition of Nortel patents. The statement claimed concerns of unfair use of the patents were curbed with Apple and Microsoft making strong commitments to the DOJ regarding fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory use of standard essential patents and not to “seek injunctions in disputes.” However, Google apparently didn’t provide the same level of commitment:
The DOJ continued that Apple’s plan to pick up Novell patents from CPTN Holdings LLC, who acquired them on behalf of Apple in April, is “unlikely to harm competition”. The DOJ claimed Apple’s acquisition of the patents wouldn’t allow the company to stop offering royalty-free licenses for use in Linux, and Apple has even committed to honoring the terms of the Novell’s licensing agreements:
