EU competition authorities have found that Motorola Mobility abused its dominant market position by seeking an injunction against Apple device sales for alleged violations of a standards-essential patent held by Motorola. While the European Commission held off on fining Motorola, as there is no existing case law to determine such a sanction, it ordered the company to undo the negative effects of the injunction obtained from a German court.
The patents in question are deemed part of the GPRS standard, and Motorola had earlier committed to standards bodies to license the technology on FRAND terms. However, Motorola pursued an injunction against sales of Apple devices due to alleged infringement, despite Apple agreeing to take a licence to the technology at royalty terms set by the German court. The Commission also found it anti-competitive that Motorola insisted, under threat of enforcement of the injunction, that Apple give up its rights to challenge the validity or infringement by Apple of the Motorola patents.
The smartphone patent wars in recent years have led authorities in the US and Europe to investigate numerous manufacturers amid suspicions the legal suits constitute anti-competitive behaviour and could be leading to excessive royalties on technology key to most devices. The Motorola investigation was started in April 2012 following a complaint by Apple. A general consensus has emerged that injunctions based on alleged infringement of patented technology deemed essential to industry standards are an unacceptable form of competition. This is the first time the EU has confirmed the stance in a ruling against a specific company.
In a separate case, the European Commission announced that Samsung has agreed not to pursue such injunctions in Europe, in order to avoid sanctions from the competition authorities. It agreed to pursue licensing agreements on FRAND terms with competitors, with the terms settled in court or by an arbiter if no agreement can be reached. Google, the parent company of Motorola, agreed to a similar settlement with US competition officials last year.
Samsung was under investigation for a similar case on patents essential to the UMTS standard, for which it sought an injunction against Apple for alleged violation. However, the EC found that Apple had proven willing to take a licence to the technology and informed Samsung in late 2012 that it's actions could constitute an abuse of its dominant market position.
