EU Commission was expected to take a call on Samsung's antitrust investigation in April and true to their word, the Commission has accepted Samsung's standard essential patents (SEP) related commitments. “I welcome Samsung's commitment to resolve disputes on standard essential patents without having recourse to injunctions in a way that could harm competition,” Commission Vice President in charge of competition policy Joaquín Almunia said.
According to the commitments, which Samsung is bound under the EU antitrust rules, Samsung will not seek any litigation against any licensee in Europe for five years who has agreed to sign up to a specified licensing framework. However, if there is a dispute, the FRAND terms for the SEPs will be decided by a court or an arbitrator.
The licensing framework provides for:
– a negotiation period of up to 12 months; and
– if no agreement is reached, a third party determination of FRAND terms by a court if either party chooses, or by an arbitrator if both parties agree on this.
