On Friday, US authorities approved Honeywell International's proposed acquisition of Intermec, mobile computing device maker on condition. Honeywell would need license its certain key patents used in barcode scanners to a competitor.

In a statement, Director Deborah Feinstein of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)'s Bureau of Competition said, "Although divestiture of assets is the preferred remedy in merger cases, licensing requirements can preserve competition in markets where access to needed technology is the main barrier to entry."

New Jersey-based Honeywell has been required by FTC to license its IP TECH s.r.l. patents to Italian company Datalogic SpA for the next 12 years. The patents were used in making two-dimensional bar code scanners. 

Feinstein added, "The proposed order gives Datalogic access to the patents it needs to enter the U.S. market immediately and restore the competition lost due to the merger." 

Honeywell would be buying the automated identification and data capture equipment maker Intermec for USD600 million. The merger was already approved by the latter's shareholder's in May, and was cleared by the European Union in June.