FSR – Comms & Media researchers, Niccolò Galli and Igor Nikolic, have published an article in Competition Policy International exploring the challenges of Standard Essential Patent (SEP) licensing in the Internet of Things (IoT) market and the three areas where the European Commission’s SEP Expert Group “strongly recommends departing from traditional competition law prohibitions of collective price-fixing and industry coordination” including, Value Chain Licensing, Standard’s Price Transparency, and Joint Licensing Actions for the IoT.
The paper argues for more horizontal and vertical SEP licensing coordination and a balanced solution that “will acknowledge the pro-competitive potential of collective industry negotiations in the SEP licensing environment”, whilst guarding “against collusive threats and buyers’ cartels that may harm further innovation.”
