Google is laying off 1,200 employees from Motorola Mobility, in an effort to bring the hardware maker into profitability via restructuring. The loss of 10-percent of its workforce is a continuation of reductions announced last summer, adding to the 4,000 jobs, a fifth of staff, that the company previously said it will remove.
As expected, following the admonishment that it received from the Federal Trade Commission, Google and Motorola Mobility have moved to withdraw its complaints against Microsoft relating to the standards-essential H.264 video compression patent with US International Trade Commission. Google is seemingly obeying the terms set forth with the FTC that were made public at the end of last week.
Talks are underway between Apple and Google's Motorola Mobility to resolve disputes over critical smartphone technology patents, according to a court filing. Reports hold that the two companies have been exchanging proposals on binding arbitration that would bring a licensing agreement for standards-essential patents, one that could lead to a general settlement of all of their patent disputes worldwide. Analysts say that, depending on the size and scope of the agreement, the negotiations could result in greater protection for the many licensees of Google's Android platform.
