Northern, WI 1/5/2013 (USAmarketbuzz) – After nearly 20 months which saw Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) and U.S. regulators lock horns in an antitrust probe investigation, Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) has decided that it is going to change some business practices thus laying to rest the allegations of misusing patents to prevent competition in the smart phone technology race.
Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) has voluntarily agreed to remove the restriction of the usages from its online search advertising platform and further giving the options for the companies to keep their content out of its search results. Regarding patents, Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) will also be restricted in its ability to seek court orders baring competitor’s products even though the company has agreed on licensing its technology based on reasonable terms.
Jon Leibowitz commented, these changes agreed by Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) will ensure that the customers benefit to the maximum from the competition.
The FTC’s decision to close the case without any enforcement came as a major blow to Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT), Expedia Inc(NASDAQ:EXPE) and Yelp Inc(NYSE:YELP) which are the major competitors of Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG). The FTC however feels that this was the best bargain that could have got, if a legal battle had ensured things might not be so successful.
Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG)’s universal search which mixes its own answers along with links to other sources of information to answer the queries have come under complaint by critics stating that this makes other websites to go down in the ranking thus affecting the consumer. Wilkinson commented that the FTC’s mission is to protect competition and not individual competitors.
The agreement with FTC directs Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) to provide reports on its compliance for a period of five years. Peter Levitas, deputy in the bureau of compliance said the agency has in its power to review company documents and interview its employees if it suspects anything is out of place.
Tom Rosch, a Republican commented after promising an elephant more than a year ago, the commission as an alternative has brought forth a couple of mice.
Fair Search .Org, one of the critics of Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) has asked the FTC to postpone the its decision until Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) submitted an elaborate proposal to the European Commission’s antitrust probe. However Leibowitz said U.S. law differs from that in Europe.
Regarding the patent settlement the agency voted 4-1 a 10-year consent decree that confine the circumstances in which Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) can seek court injunctions aligned with competitors’ products that rely on so-called standard-essential patents. Companies that make technology that helps to expand an agreed-upon business customary pledge to license connected patents on realistic and unbiased terms.
The ongoing efforts of Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) to bar the U.S. import of Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) devices, which according to Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) has infringed patents from its Motorola Mobility unit. Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) has paid $12.5 billion in for Motorola in order to obtain its huge collection on 17,000 patents. These patents cover the fundamental operating mechanism of mobile technology and it would be difficult for Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) to take a different route.
However Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) was cleared of its infringement of patents from Motorola Mobility by the U.S. International Trade Commission and some of the claims against Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) will also be dropped.
The shares of the following:
The share value of Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) is up by 1.98% to close at $737.97
The share value of Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) is down by 1.87% to close at $26.74
The share value of Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) is down by 2.78% to close at $527.00
The share value of Expedia Inc(NASDAQ:EXPE) is up by 2.59% to close at $64.46
The share value of Yelp Inc(NYSE:YELP) is up by 6.80% to close at $21.52