The article doesn't actually say that, it differentiates between the handset business that was sold and the remainder Motorola Mobility unit which holds the pat

The article doesn't actually say that, it differentiates between the handset business that was sold and the remainder Motorola Mobility unit which holds the patents: "Google acquired Motorola Mobility in 2012 for $12.5 billion, and this year announced was selling Motorola Mobility's handset business to Lenovo, while keeping the vast majority of the patents."