Regulatory

30th Jul,13

Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Concerning “Standard Essential Patent Disputes and Antitrust Law”

2017-05-22T19:17:56+00:00By allthingsfrand|

Published: 7/30/13In this statement, the FTC explained the potential of FRAND abuse to facilitate hold-up of standard implementers. The Commission stated that “incorporating patented technologies into standards also has the potential to distort competition by enabling SEP holders to use the leverage that they may acquire as a result of [...]

20th May,13

In re Certain Electronic Devices, Including Wireless Communication Devices, Portable Music and Data Processing Devices, and Tablet Computers

2017-05-22T19:17:56+00:00By allthingsfrand|

Published: 5/20/13This investigation by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) was based on a complaint filed by Samsung against Apple regarding alleged infringement of several of its patents on smartphones and tablets. Apple asserted that Samsung was precluded from seeking any form of injunctive relief (such as a cease-and-desist or [...]

1st Mar,13

Motorola Mobility LLC

2017-05-23T04:14:27+00:00By allthingsfrand|

Published: 1/3/13 The U.S. Federal Trade Commission settled charges that Google’s Motorola Mobility Division violated the Federal Trade Commission Act by seeking injunctions and exclusion orders against willing licensees of its FRAND-encumbered SEPs. The settlement provides for the establishment of a dispute resolution mechanism to adjudicate FRAND rates and bars [...]

8th Jan,13

U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Policy Statement On Remedies For Standards-Essential Patents Subject To Voluntary F/RAND Commitments

2017-05-23T04:14:00+00:00By allthingsfrand|

Published: 1/8/13 In this joint statement, the U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the Patent and Trademark Office addressed the benefits of collaborative standards development through standards organizations and the risks to competition associated with patent hold-up, which may occur after standardization. According to the statement, “when a standard incorporates [...]

12th Sep,12

Case COMP/38.636 – Rambus

2017-05-22T19:17:57+00:00By allthingsfrand|

Published: 12/9/12The Rambus case involved allegations of standard-setting deception rather than FRAND abuse. The European Commission’s decision in Rambus is nevertheless relevant to the FRAND debate because of its analysis of the appropriate royalty base on which a SEP holder may impose a royalty. In the Commission’s market testing of [...]

11th Jul,12

Prepared Statement of the Federal Trade Commission Before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Concerning “”Oversight of the Impact on Competition of Exclusion Orders to Enforce Standard-Essential Patents””

2017-05-23T04:09:36+00:00By allthingsfrand|

Published: 7/11/12 As part of its statement, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission noted that “a SEP owner [has] the ability to demand and obtain royalty payments much higher than might have been available prior to adoption of the standard because these rates need not be based on the true market [...]

11th Jul,12

Statement of Joseph F. Wayland Acting Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division,

2017-05-23T04:08:59+00:00By allthingsfrand|

Published: 7/11/12In this testimony, the U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division explains the potential for standardization to enable SEP holders to engage in patent hold-up, “such as by excluding a competitor from a market or obtaining an unjustifiably higher price for its invention than would have been possible before the standard [...]

1st Jun,12

Third Party Federal Trade Commission’s Statement on the Public Interest

2017-05-23T04:11:11+00:00By allthingsfrand|

Published: 6/1/12 In its statement, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission urged the ITC to consider that “a royalty negotiation that occurs under threat of an exclusion order may be weighted heavily in favor of the patentee in a way that is in tension with the RAND commitment. High switching costs [...]

13th Feb,12

Statement of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division on Its Decision to Close Its Investigations of Google Inc.’s Acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and The Acquisitions of Certain Patents by Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Researc

2017-05-22T19:17:57+00:00By allthingsfrand|

Published: 2/13/12Summary is based on unofficial translations This statement announced the closing of the acquisitions of two large patent portfolios in the telephony and networking industries. During the investigation, some firms expressed concerns about the anticompetitive use of SEPs that were included within the acquired portfolios. These concerns, were obviated, [...]

13th Feb,12

Case No COMP/M.6381 – Google/Motorola Mobility

2017-05-22T19:17:57+00:00By allthingsfrand|

Published: 2/13/12The Commission reviewed Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holding (MMH), including its patent portfolio containing a number of SEPs, to determine the transaction’s compatibility with competition requirements. As to the acquisition of MMH’s SEPs, the European Commission explained that “FRAND commitments essentially oblige SEP owners: (i) to make the [...]