Abstract
Competition law sets limits on the exercise of intellectual property rights by dominant companies, namely in cases involving standard essential patents (SEPs). This article will examine the framework for SEP owners’ right to seek an injunction, discussing competitive problems that such situations may cause as well as the solutions adopted by the European Institutions, comparing them with the US and Japanese approach, and finally reflecting upon the opportunity for a new test for a new type of abuse. Although the three legal orders – US, EU and Japan – apply different laws establishing a general presumption against injunctions in SEPs encumbered with FRAND commitments, their goal is the same: to protect the interest of the SEP holder to obtain a remuneration without an abusive recourse to injunctions. I will argue that, in the EU, the Huawei case created a new test for a new type of abuse, improving the comprehensibility and certainty for the companies involved in standardization across Europe and allowing the harmonization of national judicial solutions regarding the seeking of injunctions in the SEPs context. In spite of some uncertainties, the new test clarifies the role that competition rules should play in cases of abuses by SEPs owners
Highlights
The Huawei Case and Its Aftermath: a New Test for a New Type of Abuse by
Standardization across Europe and allowing the harmonization of national judicial solutions regarding the seeking of injunctions in the Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) context
In the course of this dispute, the German Court referred several questions to the European Court of Justice seeking to ascertain whether, and in which circumstances, an action for infringement, brought by a SEP owner encumbered with FRAND commitments against a manufacturer of products complying with that standard, represents an abuse of dominant position under EU competition law
Summary
T I C Peer-reviewed scientific periodical, focusing on legal and economic issues of antitrust and regulation. Le droit de la concurrence fixe des limites à l’exercice des droits de propriété intellectuelle par les entreprises dominantes, notamment dans les affaires concernant des brevets essentiels standard (standard essential patents, SEPs). Cet article examinera le cadre du droit des propriétaires de SEP de demander une injonction en discutant des problèmes de la concurrence que de telles situations peuvent causer ainsi que des solutions adoptées par les institutions européennes. Dans l’UE, l’affaire Huawei a créé un nouveau test pour un nouveau type d’abus, améliorant la compréhensibilité et la certitude pour les entreprises impliquées dans la normalisation en Europe et permettant l’harmonisation de solutions judiciaires nationales concernant la recherche d’injonctions dans le contexte des SEP. Le nouveau test clarifie le rôle que les règles de la concurrence devraient jouer dans les cas d’abus par des propriétaires de SEP
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