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The Competition Commission of India will investigate Ericsson for anticompetitive practices related to its Standard Essential Patents on smartphone technology. The competition complaint arose as part of a dispute between Ericsson and the Indian consumer electronics company Micromax.  According to the CCI order announcing the case:

“[Micromax] has alleged that [Ericsson] was demanding unfair, discriminatory, and exorbitant royalty for its patents regarding GSM technology. The royalty demanded by Ericsson was excessive when compared to royalties charged by other patentees for patents similar or comparable to the patents held by Ericsson.”

Ericsson executives have pledged in the past to make its Standards Essential Patents available on “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory” (FRAND) terms.  Of instance, Chief Intellectual Property Officer Kasim Alfalahi made the following statement last year: “Ericsson complies with, and endorses, terms that are fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory for its patent licensing programs, which make standard-essential patents widely available. This makes Ericsson the partner of choice for new entrants to the market, as well as established companies seeking to license technology at fair and commercially viable rates.”

More commitments by Ericsson and other holders of Standards Essential Patents are available in PIJIP’s table of Non-SDO Patent Statements and Commitments