Growing Convergence: The Limited Role of Antitrust in Standard Essential Patent Disputes

ABSTRACT:

In the last couple of years, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and several European countries have reversed previous interventionist decisions and limited the role of antitrust in the resolution of disputes concerning Standard Essential Patent (“SEPs”). These jurisdictions recognize the need to protect intellectual property rights (“IPRs”) by making available injunctions against infringers. Courts have realized that hold-up by a patent holder demanding excessive royalties is not a widespread problem and that patent implementers may hold-out against paying any royalties whilst they continue to practice a patent. They have accordingly adopted new standards for granting injunctions in disputes involving SEPs with the goal of increasing efficiency and legal certainty. We discuss this shift and its implications for competition policy and innovation.