Lenovo in DoJ antitrust rebuke
Lenovo has hit back at the US Department of Justice (DoJ) after the government intervened to back InterDigital in a standard-essential patent (SEP) licensing dispute.
InterDigital is suing the Chinese electronics manufacturer for patent infringement at the US District Court for the District of Delaware, after the companies were unable to agree licensing terms.
Lenovo responded in March with a complaint of its own, accusing InterDigital of failing to offer its patents on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.
In July, the DoJ filed a statement of interest in Lenovo’s suit, in support of InterDigital’s arguments.
Lenovo argues that InterDigital’s alleged failure to license its patents on FRAND terms violates section 1 of the US Sherman Act, which covers antitrust law.
This statute outlaws “[e]very contract, combination . . . , or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce”.
But the DoJ told the court that evading a FRAND commitment should not, by itself, render a patent owner liable under section 1.
In its latest filing, Lenovo said that not only do the “DOJ’s current views reflect a departure from its past positions, they fundamentally express policy preferences for what the law should be, rather than what it is”.
“Moreover, the DoJ’s statement—like InterDigital’s motion to dismiss—rests on unsupported factual assertions that require the court improperly to parse and disregard the allegations of Lenovo’s complaint,” the company added.
According to Lenovo, the DoJ misread its allegations and the facts of the case.
Lenovo argued that precedent from the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit backs up its case, and stresses the importance of SEP owners’ FRAND commitment in maintaining healthy competition.
The DoJ’s filing amounted to an unsubstantiated “counter-narrative”, the Chinese electronics maker claimed.
Lenovo is also facing an investigation at the US International Trade Commission (ITC), after the trade body received a patent infringement complaint from Nokia.
Nokia asked the ITC to investigate Lenovo products imported into the US which the Finnish telecoms company claims infringe its IP.
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