By Diane Bartz
WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators are near a
settlement with Google Inc in a dispute over the search giant's
efforts to stop the sale of products it says infringe essential
patents, according to two sources close to the probe.
But the Federal Trade Commission is not expected to reach a
deal soon on the larger, more contentious issue of whether
Google tweaks its search results to disadvantage rivals in
travel, shopping and other specialized searches.
Its rivals say Google fears the specialized sites will
siphon away its most lucrative advertising and the revenue that
goes with it.
Under the expected settlement, which could be announced this
week or next, Google will be required to drop demands for
injunctions in lawsuits filed using a special class of patents
called standard essential patents, or SEPs, the sources said.
SEPs ensure, for example, that one brand of wireless phone
can call another brand.
There would be an exception to the injunction ban, however.
Google would be allowed to request injunctions if companies
refuse to negotiate SEP licensing at all, the sources said.
SEPs are usually expected to be broadly licensed for a
reasonable price. One view is that if a company convinces a
standard-setting organization to name its patent as the
standard, that company should be barred from asking for an
injunction if there is infringement.
The larger investigation, which is more than a year old,
addresses search bias as well as smaller items that aggravate
Google's rivals in Silicon Valley and beyond.
These include taking data, such as hotel reviews, from
non-Google web sites to use on Google products, and preventing
the export of data on advertising effectiveness to non-Google
software so ad campaigns can be evaluated.
The European Commission is investigating many of the same
allegations.
Google's critics, disappointed with the trajectory of the
FTC probe, appear prepared to take their grievances to the U.S.
Justice Department.
At least one Google adversary met with Justice Department
officials recently, pressing them to investigate if the FTC
fails to get a satisfactory settlement on search or litigate
against Google, according to sources with knowledge of the
situation.
The Texas attorney general's office is also leading a probe
into Google's practices.
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