Google LLC will now charge phone makers in Europe to bundle its apps in response to a European Commision ruling and $5 billion fine in July over its previous practices.

The EC ruling, harking back to the famous case of Microsoft Corp. bundling Internet Explorer with Windows, found that Google breached anti-competition law by requiring manufacturers to preinstall the Google Search and Chrome apps on their devices as a condition of accessing the Play Store.

Other rulings found that Google was paying some partners not to prepackage any competing search service for their users and that the company prevented manufacturers that sought to preinstall its apps from selling “even a single” mobile device running an Android fork.

In announcing the changes to Android licensing in Europe today, Google said that though it still believes its practices were promoting competition, it has nonetheless made the changes to comply with the ruling.

First up, phone makers will now be able to offer noncompatible or forked versions of Android smartphones and tablets for the European Economic Area without restrictions on accessing Google apps. Second, and the headline response, is that device manufacturers will now be able to license the Google mobile application suite separately from the Google Search app or the Chrome browser.

“Since the pre-installation of Google Search and Chrome together with our other apps helped us fund the development and free distribution of Android, we will introduce a new paid licensing agreement for smartphones and tablets shipped into the EEA.” Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google senior vice president, Platforms & Ecosystems, said in a blog post. “Android will remain free and open source.”

In a final change, Google will offer separate licenses to the Google Search app and to Chrome, including “new commercial agreements to partners for the non-exclusive pre-installation and placement of Google Search and Chrome.”

The net effect of the changes is not yet clear. There is a possibility that Android-powered devices could become more expensive in the EC if manufacturers pass along the cost of paying for the licenses. Likewise, it may or may not see those same makers choose competing apps over Google apps on their devices.

The decision only relates to the EC, so although the small number of European-based phone makers may decide to make changes, most phones are manufactured by global brands for a global audience. That means it’s unlikely there will be widespread changes in the user experience for European Android buyers.

Image: Uncalno Tekno/Flickr