frand

The European Commission today opened two formal antitrust investigations against Motorola Mobilty to determine if the company has breached its promise to offer fair patent licensing.

The Commission is specifically aiming to see if Motorola used its patents to hurt competition in violation of European Union antitrust laws.

The investigation is based largely on complaints from Apple and Microsoft, which have alleged that Motorola's licensing arrangements are not in accordance with FRAND, or "fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory," terms. Motorola had previously pledged to the EU that it would honor such terms.

The EC's probe will also … Read more

Motorola Mobility may find itself the target of an EU investigation over complaints about its patent licensing.

In a recent Washington, D.C., speech, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia specifically cited patent concerns over Motorola, lumping it in the same regulatory hot seat as Samsung.

"We have recently opened an investigation against Samsung to make sure that the company has not failed to honor the commitments it had taken back in 1998 to make its standard-essential patents for mobile phones available in fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms," Almunia said in the speech. "We have also received similar … Read more

As badly as it wants to ban the iPhone and iPad from sale, Samsung is having a difficult time getting it done.

A judge in the Netherlands' District Court of The Hague yesterday ruled that because Samsung is governed by FRAND (fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory) licensing rules, the company cannot seek a sales injunction on Apple mobile devices that it claims violate essential patents it holds. As long as Apple shows that it wants to negotiate for use of the patents, the court ruled, Samsung must try to reach a deal.

Dutch Web site Webwereld.nl was the first to … Read more

Microsoft is the latest tech giant to take aim at Motorola Mobility--and thus, by virtue of its $12.5 billion acquisition, Google--in a FRAND (fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory) patent abuse claim.

The software giant today filed a formal competition law complaint with the European Commission against Motorola, arguing that the company is not offering essential patents on fair and reasonable terms. The complaint involves patents Motorola holds related to Web video and the way in which certain devices, like Windows PCs and the Xbox, access and play it.

"In legal proceedings on both sides of the Atlantic, Motorola is … Read more

Add "fair" to Google's famous "Do no evil" promise.

In a letter to the IEEE standards organization today, the company sought to undercut concerns of potential licensees after Google closes its proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings. The general thrust of the 13-point missive was to send the message that yes, Google will accord fair treatment to all comers, and no, it will not show bias toward makers of Android handsets.

Google promised to license patents held by Motorola Mobility, also known as MMI patents, on "reasonable terms and conditions that are demonstrably free … Read more

Apple has asked a European standards body to set new rules on how essential patents are licensed in the mobile industry.

The iPhone maker sent a letter to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in November requesting member companies set reasonable royalty rates and terms on patents related to essential mobile device functions. The Wall Street Journal, which discovered the letter yesterday, was first to report on it.

Apple is currently embroiled in bitter patent disputes with a host of companies around the world, with each side claiming the other violates patents they hold. Chief among its adversaries is Samsung, … Read more

With patent lawsuits all the rage nowadays, one term is popping up more frequently: "frand."

Frand--also known as "rand" in the U.S.--is an obscure legal acronym that stands for "fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory," and is based on the principle that fair licensing of intellectual property is often needed because sometimes certain ideas and patents just need to be shared for everything to work together properly. It's a fairly simple idea, but one that's been rocking the tech industry in recent years.

Apple loves frand, as it's become one of … Read more