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18 December 2019PatentsRory O'Neill

Stop SEP owners from ‘stifling’ innovation, plead tech and auto industries

Technology companies and carmakers have appealed to the European Commission to intervene to ensure that standard-essential patents (SEPs) are licensed on fair terms.

A letter to the commission, signed by 27 companies including Apple, Cisco, Daimler, BMW and Lenovo, said that it was increasingly difficult to access technology essential to self-driving cars and other connected devices on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

“The practice of some SEP owners to grant licences only to certain companies...prevents companies across the internet of things and related innovative technology industries from planning investments in R&D,” the letter, seen by The Financial Times, said.

“This practice stifles innovation, discourages new market entry, and ties suppliers to established customers. As a result, European businesses and consumers may pay higher prices than they would pay in a more competitive market,” the letter added.

The letter did not name any SEP holders in particular, but its signatories include Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler and auto supplier Continental, who have been embroiled in a SEP infringement suit with Nokia.

Last week, WIPR reported that Nokia and Daimler had entered into mediation discussions after Nokia unilaterally suspended its SEP litigation against Daimler.

Daimler and Continental both asked the European Commission earlier this year to launch a formal investigation into Nokia’s SEP licensing practices.

The companies behind the latest letter to the commission include other companies in the technology sector, such as Dell and Sky, as well as auto manufacturer Ford, The Financial Times reported.

The coalition stated that it had cumulatively invested more than €45 billion ($50 billion) in research and development, and owned more than 200,000 patents.

“We urge you to take decisive measures to ensure that European law and policy protects innovation across all industries and prevents practices which undermine the viability of investments benefiting the future of Europe, ” the letter said.

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More on this story

Patents
20 December 2019   US officials have said that standard-essential patent owners who seek injunctions to stop the sale of infringing products will no longer be pursued under competition laws.
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16 January 2020   Tech and auto companies including Apple, BMW, Microsoft, and Samsung have urged the European Commission to take action to stop European courts from issuing automatic injunctions in favour of so-called ‘patent trolls’.
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26 November 2020   The European Commission has promised to “reduce frictions” and bring down the level of litigation surrounding standard-essential patent licensing in the auto industry.