­The USA's Federal Trade Commission is likely to recommend legal action against Google and its Motorola Mobility subsidiary over allegations of restricting access to its standards-essential patents.

Citing four people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported that a majority of the agency's five commissioners are inclined to sue. A final decision is not expected until later next week, after the US Presidential elections.

"We take our commitments to license on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms very seriously and are happy to answer any questions," Niki Fenwick, a Google spokeswoman, said. Peter Kaplan, a spokesman for the FTC, declined to comment.

The licensing disputes themselves stem from before Google's acquisition, but the company is deemed to be partially culpable as it did not move swiftly to resolve the disputes.

The FTC is understood to have threatened to bring a lawsuit against Google under Section 5 of the FTC Act -- which covers unfair or deceptive business practices -- for refusing the patent licenses. The FTC is also said to have evidence that Google insiders considered the actions by Motorola Mobility to be wrong, but did nothing to stop them.

Motorola Mobility has come under pressure over the past couple of years over allegations that it failed to uphold principles of fair and non-discriminatory licensing for standards-essential patents that it holds.

It was reported last month that Google is seeking a settlement with the FTC, which would usually involve the FTC formally suing the company, but immediately filing a settlement agreement with the courts for their approval.

The European Commission is also looking into both Mororola Mobility and Samsung for breaches of the FRAND princple in a separate investigation.