FRAND licensing: A call for greater transparency
Published: 3/16/17
Publication: IP Finance
“With the IEEE having updated its patent policy in 2015, some standard essential patent (SEP) owners raised concerns about the economic effectiveness of its move. While it is still too early to tell what economic impact their updated patent policy will have, it is worth paying attention to an econometric analysis of the patent policy introduced by VITA (VMEbus International Trade Association ) in 2007, undertaken by the now Chief Economist of the EPO, […]
Change is Coming at the FTC, but What Will it Mean for SEPs?: The commission has been a hotbed of litigation, but that may be about to change
Published: 3/13/17
Publication: Metropolitan Corporate Counsel
“And then there were two. With the departure of Commissioner Edith Ramirez, only two commissioners (of a potential five) will remain at the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). One is a Republican, Acting Chairperson Maureen Ohlhausen, and one is a Democrat, Commissioner Terrell McSweeny. Often their views on competition and consumer protection issues are aligned. But as to how to address abusive standard essential patent (SEP) royalties and the role the FTC should […]
4G FRAND Suit Against T-Mobile Should Proceed, Judge Says
Published: 2/22/17
Publication: Law360
“A Texas magistrate judge on Wednesday recommended a federal court deny T-Mobile‘s bid to toss Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.’s suit for declaratory judgment on whether its license on patented 4G technology was fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory, finding the court had subject-matter jurisdiction over the case.
The Chinese telecom supplier’s action, filed in July, seeks a declaration that the company complied with fairness standards when crafting a license that is the subject of four underlying […]
How One Company’s Perfidy Makes Your Cell Phone More Expensive Than It Should Be
Published: 2/22/17
Publication: The Weekly Standard
“An aggressive monopolist doesn’t just content itself with monopoly profits in the market it controls; where possible, it leverages that advantage to gain market power in additional markets as well, where regulators may be less vigilant and the players in the target market are vulnerable.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the various markets in the dynamic mobile technology industry eco-structure. And as a result of such behavior consumers are paying more […]
Judge approves two patent infringement suits against BlackBerry
Published: 2/22/17
Publication: Southeast Texas Record
“A magistrate judge has given the go-ahead for two patent-infringement lawsuits against BlackBerry.
The decision came after PanOptis Patent Management LLC and Optis Cellular Technology LLC filed two complaints against the cellphone company in January 2016. They claimed that BlackBerry infringed on eight wireless communications and mobile phone patents.
Blackberry filed to dismiss the lawsuits in May claiming that PanOptis complaints lacked detail. All the patents in questions cover inventions that pertain to wireless […]
Ericsson, TCL Battle Over FRAND Patents in ‘Cutting-Edge’ Case
Published: 2/16/17
Publication: The Recorder
“A new front in the smartphone wars formally opened Tuesday as TCL Communication Technology Holdings Ltd. and Ericsson Inc. kicked off a bench trial over fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) licensing for 4G LTE technology.
Shenzhen, China-based TCL is asking U.S. District Judge James Selna of Santa Ana, California, to set a FRAND rate and award damages for Ericsson’s alleged breach of FRAND commitments. TCL, which markets Alcatel- and BlackBerry-branded phones in the United […]