The post in Foss Patents compares between the US and UK's leniency among competition laws. Both regions have reportedly lacked clear guidance which has caused offenders of FRAND cases off the hook too quickly. As a result, cases like Samsung and Motorola trying to ban Apple products or Motorola attempting to ban XBOX consoles are still alive. Examples of leniency complicating the system includes the following:
1) The United States Department of Justice recently decided to close its investigation of Samsung's violation of Apple patents. This comes on the heels of the veto from Samsung seeking to ban imported products with its patents.
2) The European Commission just accepted the proposal reached for Samsung's settlement of antitrust matter. There will be market tests but arguments have been made from the previous drafts.
3) Google currently has four different cases in the EU. One, how Google search engine treats its competitors. Two, Google Android's licensing practices violation. Three and four, how Google Motorola SEP continues to fight a battle against Apple and Microsoft. All four of which the court is hoping to settle.
Ultimately, many cases are congruently increasing with the pursuit for damages. Billion dollar claims with outrageous demands are causing the US and UK to turn a blind eye much more frequently. Therefore, both regions must make an effort to standardize and create more consistency to determine abroad antitrust decisions.
I agree that it's very important to harmonize the way different nations, especially those that are known to be innovative (ex. USA, Germany, Japan, South Korea, etc.), patent their inventions. If not, you end up with what we have right now, where companies are suing each other for the same patent infringement in multiple countries. This is a massive waste of resources and time that could otherwise be put to more productive use. I think the best solution would be to create an arm of the United Nations which would oversee a global patenting system to help ensure that a patent is valid in all member states. Having said that, there are many issues associated with such a system that need to be first sorted out, but it's at least a starting point to help synchronize the various patent-issuing systems.
ReplyDeleteI definitely did not know the extent of anti-trust decisions extends beyond the US government and extends into nations like the UK. I don't know if the US is playing favoritism towards certain companies over others or if there are legitimate concerns which make them need to intervene. However, i think it may be difficult to standardize a way to rule between different nations as there are different protocols and procedures. The US court system isn't the same as the UK one and so I think there will be differences even if you could create a guideline for each country to decide on. Its especially tough when considering internal biases like the ones that take place in the Eastern District of Texas.
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