BARNES AND NOBLE ASKS US GOVERNMENT TO INVESTIGATE MICROSOFT FOR MOBILE DOMINATION

Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) asked U.S. regulators to investigate whether Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) seeks to monopolize the mobile-device market by demanding patent royalties on electronics running on Google Inc.’s Android operating system. “Microsoft is embarking on a campaign of asserting trivial and outmoded patents against manufacturers of Android devices,” Barnes & Noble said in an Oct. 17 letter to Gene Kimmelman, the Justice Department’s chief counsel for competition policy. “Microsoft is attempting to raise its rivals’ costs in order to drive out competition and to deter innovation in mobile devices.”

The world’s largest software maker accused New York-based Barnes & Noble of infringing five patents and filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, seeking to block imports of the Nook readers. Barnes & Noble made public four letters and a presentation to the Justice Department in a filing with the commission yesterday.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, contends it owns patented inventions that are used in the Android operating system, and has struck licensing deals with companies including Samsung Electronics Co. and HTC Corp. (2498), two of the biggest makers of Android phones.

“All modern operating systems include many patented technologies,” Microsoft said in a statement. “Microsoft has taken licenses to patents for Windows and we make our patents available on reasonable terms for other operating systems, like Android. We would be pleased to extend a license to Barnes & Noble.”

DOJ CLEARS GOOGLE'S BID FOR NORTEL PATENTS

U.S. antitrust enforcers have given Google Inc. the go-ahead to pursue its $900 million opening bid for a trove of high-tech patents being sold next week by Canadian telecommunications-equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp., people familiar with the matter said.
After an antitrust review, the Justice Department concluded that Google's potential ownership of the patents wouldn't raise any major competitive concerns, these people said. The clearance could give Google a leg-up against rivals in its bid for the patents, part of its effort to acquire an arsenal of patents that could help it ward off lawsuits by competitors.

APPLE GETS GOOD NEWS FROM THE EU

Apple received some good news about the European Unions investigation into Apple decision earlier this year to  block third party developer tools and ads.  The EU has dropped the investigation citing Apple's recent relaxation of those rules and allowing third party developers tools to be used.  It is still undetermined if the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission  will drop their investigation for the same issues, but it is expected they will as well. [Engadget]