The exclusive rights conferred by a patent may be subject to limitations based on competition law. For example, patents that have been declared essential to an industry standard (so-called standard essential patents, “SEP(s)”) shall be made available for licensing to all third parties under fair, reasonable and non discriminatory (“FRAND”) terms in order to comply with Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”) which sets forth that any abuse of a dominant position within the internal market shall be prohibited. This interface between patent and competition law is an area of potential friction and has been a matter for the courts for some years.
Continue Reading Court of Justice of the European Union Provides Restrictions for Asserting Standard Essential Patents in Europe