Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
9953129 | IIMB Management Review | 2018 | 32 Pages |
Abstract
The Indian Competition Commission has recently challenged Ericsson's practice of licensing its standards-essential patents (SEPs), relating to cellular standards, for percentage-based royalties based on the selling prices of the end-user licensed products. Ericsson had committed to the relevant standards-development organisation that it would license its SEPs on “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory” (“FRAND”) terms. The Commission contends that such royalties are “prima facie discriminatory” in violation of the Competition Act, in the (novel) sense that different products selling for different prices pay different per-unit royalties. We analyse the broader implications of the Commission's reasoning, concerned that if adopted, the Commission's reasoning would disrupt common industry licensing practices.
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Authors
David J. Teece, Edward F. Sherry, Peter C. Grindley,