Law and Innovation

Fresh and interesting memo posted on the European Commission's website about frequently asked questions concerning these antitrust decisions on standard essential patents (SEPs) - Motorola Mobility and Samsung Electronics. I also recommend you this   Beginner's Guide To Standards-Essential Patent, Standard-Developing Organizations And [F]RAND Terms In The Smartphone Patent Wars. Happy reading and learning!  " What is an injunction? An injunction is a court order aimed at preventing the continuation of a patent infringement. Generally, it includes the prohibition to sell the product infringing the patent. Such injunctions can be preliminary – as a precautionary measure typically for the time of the assessment of the case on the merits by the court. Injunctions can also be permanent as a result of the decision on the merits by a court. What is a standard essential patent (SEP)? SEPs are patents essential to implement a specific industry standard.  Thi...

J oaquin Almunia's circular picture is probably hanging in Google's EU Headquarter with a dart in the center of his nose... with the eyes the next potential target... More than two years ago, in November 2010, the European Commission  decided to open an antitrust investigation into allegations that the Internet giant has abused a dominant position in online search (in violation of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). Its core role is the regulation of monopolies. Although dominance alone is not an abuse, a company in a dominant position has a special responsibility to ensure that its conduct does not impair the competition. As of March 2013, in Europe , Google controlled 93% of the search engine market, over 97% of mobile search and 87% of search advertising revenue [1] . Even though I am a lawyer and I am not supposed to understand numbers (that's for engineers), it looks like Google nailed all the competit...