Litigation as an Abuse: European Commission and US Courts Draw a Line under 'Patent Wars' while Adopting a Common Approach on Standard Essential Patents

摘要

With these decisions, the Commission has signalled clearly that patent wars should not be waged at the expense of consumers and all parties have an obligation to act within the competition rules. These decisions bring much-needed legal clarity to circumstances in which patent holders can be guilty of an abuse of a dominant position contrary to Article 102 TFEU. Patent holders of SEPs have a special duty to act reasonably towards competitors or other third parties that want to have access to standardised technology through SEPs on FRAND terms. As long as patent holders are fairly remunerated for the use of their intellectual property within the FRAND system, it is abusive for patent holders to resort to injunctions in court proceedings to enforce their SEPs. It also appears that a symmetrical approach is being pursued over the Atlantic.