Intellectual Property Magazine
Frandly fire
Axinn’s Thomas Hedemann, PaulZeineddin, Ted Mathias and Gabriella McIntyre discuss the year’ssignificant US licensing and SEP verdicts
Thomas Hedemann, Paul Zeineddin, Ted Mathias and GabriellaMcIntyre, Axinn
The US has seen several important decisions this year dealingwith standard-essential patents (SEPs) and their fair, reasonable,
andnon-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing commitments. In Federal TradeCommission (FTC) v Qualcomm Inc,
1 the US Court of Appeals forthe Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s holding that Qualcomm’s refusalto license rival
chip makers was anticompetitive, suggesting that FRANDdisputes should generally sound in patent or contract law rather than
antitrust.Two other appellate decisions provided important guidance for the role of thejury in FRAND disputes, and an imminent
third decision will likely do so aswell.