Sharp and Daimler reach SEP licence deal
Japan-based Sharp has signed a standard-essential patent (SEP) licensing agreement with Daimler, one month after securing a patent victory against the automotive company in Germany.
Today, October 7, Sharp announced that it had reached an agreement on wireless communication SEPs relating to the long term evolution (LTE) standard, a set of wireless technologies used in connected cars and other devices.
Last month, the Munich Regional Court found Daimler to have infringed patent claims asserted by Sharp covering connected cars. After concluding that Sharp’s patent (EP 2,667,676 B1) was essential to the LTE standard, the court noted that Daimler had “consistently proven” itself to be an unwilling licensee in negotiations with Sharp.
Daimler subsequently confirmed to WIPR that it would appeal against the patent injunction put in place by the court, which threatened to ban the sales of its cars in Germany.
Today’s deal builds on an already existing licence agreement between Sharp and a component supplier which, according to the Japanese manufacturer, already covers the majority of Daimler vehicles.
“Sharp has now licensed LTE SEPs to many leading companies. Sharp keeps expanding the number of licensees and continues to grant its SEP licences to any other parties under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions (FRAND),” added the release.
In a statement provided to WIPR, Daimler said that most of the licences in the German proceeding have already been purchased by a supplier and that, as a result of the settlement, Sharp has withdrawn its suits.
“Daimler continues to believe that a company cannot be prohibited from using such SEPs if its suppliers are willing to pay a corresponding licence,” it added.
The automotive company added that the settlement only concerns smaller parts of the original lawsuit, since Sharp had already partially withdrawn its claim (as a licence was concluded between a Daimler supplier and Sharp in the meantime).
The spokesperson added: “This shows that the model favoured by us, licensing by the suppliers themselves, is basically possible.”
Automotive vs SEP owners
While the licence agreement resolves one dispute, fierce debate and litigation rage on between automakers and SEP owners.
Daimler is also embroiled in a protracted SEP dispute with Nokia, after claiming that the telecoms company’s policy of licensing to end-product manufacturers is in violation of SEP owners’ FRAND commitments.
In this case, the German court had refused to submit questions on licensing norms in the automotive industry to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). This was despite a recommendation by Germany’s competition regulator, which is scrutinising the licensing model favoured by SEP owners.
Under this model, SEP owners license to end-level manufacturers, rather than component suppliers, as it produces a greater return on investment.
In August, Daimler confirmed it would challenge another German decision which found it was infringing a Nokia patent and threatened a sales ban.
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