CJEU Reins in Mobile Phone Standard Essential Patent Battles

摘要

The European Union's top court set limits on the ability of mobile phone makers owning key industry patents to use court injunctions to thwart competitors seeking to use the technology in their own equipment. Huawei Technologies Co. and other mobile phone makers that own a so-called standard essential patent can go to court seeking to bar rivals from using it - or to ban their products - only if they have met strict conditions, the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg ruled July 16 (Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd v. ZTE Corp., E.C.J., No. C-170/13, 7/16/15).