Competition Bureau releases revised IP Enforcement Guidelines
Published: 6/6/16
Publication: International Law Office
On March 31 2016 the Competition Bureau released the revised IP Enforcement Guidelines, following an extensive public consultation process held in 2015 based on previous drafts released in 2014 and 2015 (for further details please see “Competition Bureau releases updated IP Enforcement Guidelines“).
Time to modernise standards?
Published: 6/6/16
Publication: Lexology
As part of its Single Market Strategy, the Commission has announced that it will take steps to modernise the EU’s policy on standardisation. In particular, the Commission will launch a Joint Initiative on Standardisation to modernise, prioritise and speed up the delivery of standards by 2019. This initiative is intended to bring together European and national standardisation organisations, industry, SMEs, consumer associations, trade unions, environmental organisations, Member States and the Commission.
Court of Appeal reinstates Samsung’s case on non-discrimination and FRAND
Published: 6/1/16
Publication: Monckton Chambers
On Friday 27 May, the Court of Appeal handed down an important judgment on the interplay between competition law and the licensing of essential patents.
This is part of a landmark patent infringement case where Unwired Planet, a “patent assertion entity” that has acquired from Ericsson certain “standard essential patents” (“SEPS”) used in smartphones and network equipment, has sued Samsung, Google and Huawei for infringing the SEPS (Google has largely settled out).
Draft Licensing Guidelines and Formats for GM Technology Agreements
Published: 6/1/16
Publication: Lexology
The Ministry of Agriculture has recently issued a draft notification titled “Draft Licensing Guidelines and Formats for GM Technology Agreements” to effectively create a parallel system of compulsory license for genetically modified cotton technology. The intent behind the draft notification is to impose FRAND licensing obligations, i.e. obligations to grant licenses under Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory terms, on genetically modified cotton technology. While originally issued as a final and binding notification, within 2 days from […]
After Delhi court rulings, patent licensing firmly in the focus of India’s competition watchdog
Published: 5/12/16
Publication: IAM
As the first major standards essential patent (SEP) disputes wend their way through India’s court system, a ruling by the High Court of Delhi has made clear that this may well be the next jurisdiction where competition authorities will have their say as to what constitutes anti-competitive behaviour when it comes to patent licensing. A turn in Ericsson’s litigation against Xiaomi, meanwhile, has highlighted that while courts have so far been willing to grant interim […]
The Commission has seen the future and it is standardised!
Published: 5/12/16
Publication: Lexology
A couple of weeks ago the Commission has published a Communication to a whole host of other EU institutions (including the Parliament and the Council as well as the ECSC and the Committee of the Regions), setting out its Information Communication Technology (ICT) standardization priorities [READ MORE]