Companies that want to produce 3G equipment currently need to
comply with technical specifications set forth in a standard called
IMT-200 3G, which comprises five different 3G technologies. They
also need to have access to certain "essential" patents associated
with these technologies.
The set of agreements dealing with 3G essential patents was
submitted to the Commission in 2000 by a group of telcos and mobile
phone makers including Alcatel, France Telecom, Mitsubishi, DoCoMo,
Sony, Samsung and Telecom Italia Mobile.
The agreements set up procedures to identify which patents are
essential, to streamline licensing and to reduce overall licence
fees to be paid for the entire portfolio of essential patents.
In order to get the Commission's approval, the group agreed to
re-structure the agreements so that they don't combine all patents
in one single platform. Moreover, the agreements are limited to
essential patents only and licensing will be carried out without
discriminatory terms or exchange of competitively sensitive
information.
The Commission said it also took account that a number of major
3G essential patent holders, such as Ericsson, Nokia and Motorola,
are not party to the agreements.
According to the Commission, this means that a significant
number of essential patents will remain outside of the arrangement
and therefore competition will not be affected.
The Commission's decision is limited to the specific set of
agreements and does not extend to any other initiatives of 3G
standard setting bodies and industry groups.
