Motorola Agrees to License Standards-Essential Patents to Apple in Germany

Apple and Google’s Motorola Mobility are nearing a licensing agreement for the latter company’s patents, though only in Germany.

In a filing this week with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Motorola said it had agreed to license to Apple its cellular standards-essential patents in Germany, following court approval of a FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory) licensing offer Apple made to it earlier in the year (and the threat of antitrust litigation if Motorola refused).

The agreed-upon royalty rate? There isn’t one. And unless the companies are able to hammer one out in the days ahead, it will be determined by the German courts.