Published: 1/1/12
The U.S. FTC settled charges that a company acquired by Robert Bosch GmbH (Bosch) “reneged on a licensing commitment made to two standard-setting bodies to license its standards-essential patents (‘SEPs’) … on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms (‘FRAND’) by seeking injunctions against willing licensees of those SEPs.” In a statement accompanying the settlement, the FTC explained that “standard setting often displaces the normal competitive process with the collective decision-making of competitors.” According to the agency, “This case is another chapter in the Commission’s longstanding commitment to safeguard the integrity of the standard setting process” by ensuring that it “works for the benefit of, rather than against, consumers.” Specifically, the Commission noted that the threat of an injunction can lead to unreasonable royalties that exceed the economic value of the technology at issue and that may be passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices. Under the terms of the settlement, the acquiring company agreed to license the SEPs.