The cost of Google?s antitrust victory: Its Motorola patents are now worth even less than before

Google’s (GOOG) decision to buy Motorola really isn’t looking too hot right now. The Wall Street Journal reports that Motorola’s patent portfolio took a significant hit to its value this week after the Federal Trade Commission�concluded�its investigation into whether Google allegedly abused the patents�it obtained when it finalized its acquisition of the electronics manufacturer last year. According to the Journal, one of the concessions Google made to the FTC to avoid litigation involved “agreeing to an FTC consent order restricting the use of many of its best patents as weapons,” which significantly diminishes the company’s ability to pursue aggressive patent lawsuits against rivals. Google, of course, primarily acquired Motorola for the value of its patent portfolio�and the company has admitted

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