Valeo and Continental join others in antitrust complaint against Nokia
Two car parts suppliers have asked the European Commission to undertake an antitrust investigation into Nokia’s patent licensing practices for technology used in cars.
In a statement issued yesterday, April 17, the Finland-based telecoms company said it had been notified of a complaint by car parts suppliers Valeo and Continental.
Continental, a Germany company, told WIPR it filed the action because it believes that “Nokia is not exercising fair practices regarding the licensing of its alleged standard-essential patents (SEPs)”.
France-based Valeo said it had made its complaint “on the basis of abuse of a dominant position by Nokia”, according to Reuters.
Valeo and Continental join German companies Bury and Daimler, which separately asked the commission to investigate Nokia’s SEPs for car communications last month, as reported by WIPR.
The SEPs relate to mobile phone technologies such as 2G, 3G, 4G and WiFi.
Bury’s complaint, which was filed “in parallel” with Daimler’s, accused Nokia of refusing to grant licenses for individual mobile communications components in automobiles.
Bury alleged that Nokia, in place of a patent licence, required “indirect licensing of the entire vehicle”, in breach of fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.
In a statement regarding its complaint, Daimler said it wanted clarification on how SEPs for telecommunication standards are to be licensed in the automotive industry.
It added: “Fair and non-discriminatory access to these standards for all users of the essential patents for telecommunications standards is a key prerequisite for the development of new products and services for connected driving.”
A spokesperson for Nokia, said Daimler had resisted licensing Nokia inventions that it was already using, and that the allegations were “simply the latest in a long series of actions to avoid taking a licence”.
They added that Nokia learned of Continental and Valeo's complaints at the same time as those of Daimer and Bury, but none of them changed its view of the matter.
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