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In a statement on Wednesday in the public interest before the U.S.International Trade Commission, the FTC said that ITC's issuance ofan exclusion or cease and desist order in matters involvingimplementation of standards-essential patents, that were committedto be licensed on FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory)terms, has the potential to cause substantial harm to U.S.competition, consumers and innovation. FTC made the submission in the context of the ITC investigationinto Motorola Mobility's charges of patent infringement againstApple and Microsoft. ITC administrative law judge David Shaw hasrecommended a ban on Xbox consoles in the U.S. The FTC said it was concerned that a patent owner can make a FRANDcommitment as part of the standard setting process, and then seekan exclusion order for infringement of the RAND-encumberedstandards-essential patent as a way of securing royalties that maybe inconsistent with the FRAND commitment. Holders of declared-essential patents are entitled to fair,reasonable, and non-discriminatory compensation and terms fromimplementers of the standard, but they are not entitled to keep awilling licensee from bringing standards-compliant products tomarket, Nokia said on Wednesday in response to a request forstatements in the public interest from the ITC. If exclusion orders against willing licensees were permitted forinfringement of valid, enforceable and essential patents, companiesselling standards-compliant products likely would be forced to payartificially high prices, which are non-FRAND, to license theasserted patents, and avoid an exclusion order, it added. Given that standards-essential patents are at issue, the onlydispute at this stage should be whether the royalties demanded bythe complainant are fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory, HPsaid. That dispute, however, should be resolved in the federalcourts, and not the ITC, as the federal courts have the authorityto provide a monetary remedy that adequately compensates thecomplainant, HP said in its submission. Verizon Wireless also recommended that the ITC should direct thepatent holder to remedies in federal court, where it should belimited to monetary damages as measured by the value of thepatented invention before it was incorporated into the industrystandard. The company said it is concerned that an exclusion orderregarding smartphones would harm consumers, wireless carriers, andthe national interest. Microsoft put the blame squarely on Motorola which it said in a blog post had "decided to break the system by using its standard essentialpatents to block other companies from selling their products." Ithad hoped that Google would break the practice. Google last monthcompleted the acquisition of Motorola. In November, Apple sent a letter to ETSI (European Telecommunications StandardsInstitute), asking for more consistency in the licensing ofessential patents. Apple's suggested terms include the promise tonot try to block the sale of products when negotiations havefailed. Motorola was not immediately available for comment. John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breakingnews from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro . John's e-mail address is john_ribeiro@idg.com. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Rechargeable Portable Speakers , Wireless Stereo Bluetooth Headset Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Rechargeable USB Card Speaker.
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