[Ecommerce] Brussels drops telecoms standards probe

[Manon Ress]

Brussels drops telecoms standards probe
By Tobias Buck in Brussels
Published: December 12 2005 17:41 | Last updated: December 12 2005 17:41
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/114ec374-6b35-11da-8aee-0000779e2340.html

The European Commission has ended its antitrust probe into Europe=92s
leading telecommunications standard-setter, after the body agreed to
tighten its rules on intellectual property rights.

The Brussels regulator had launched the investigation amid concerns
that the rules governing IPR at the European Telecommunications
Standards Institute (ETSI) were too lax to prevent cases of =93patent
ambush=94. This practice usually involves companies trying to turn
their patented technology into an industry standard without telling
other companies about their patent claim. If their technology is
accepted as a new standard, companies can then demand royalties from
other groups forced to use the patented technology.

Conflicts between patent holders and companies that have to pay for
the use of patented technology have been on the rise and have become
a growing concern to regulators on both sides of the Atlantic.

ETSI is of particular significance in this context because it is
responsible for standardisation of information and communication
technology in Europe. ETSI=92s biggest success to date has been the
creation of the GSM mobile phone standard but more recently its IPR
policies have come under fire both from Brussels and from powerful
companies such as Vodafone.

Following recent changes to ETSI=92s rules, the regulator=92s concerns
appear to have been addressed. The Commission said it had ended its
probe following a recent decision by ETSI to strengthen the
=93requirement for early disclosure of those intellectual property
rights which are essential for the implementation of a standard=94.
This means patent holders are obliged to flag up the existence of
their patent early on in the process of developing a new standard.

Neelie Kroes, the EU competition commissioner, said: =93Standards are
of increasing importance, particularly in high-tech sectors of the
economy. It is crucial that standard-setting bodies establish rules
which ensure fair, transparent procedures and early disclosure of
relevant intellectual property. We will continue to monitor the
operation of standard-setting bodies in this regard.=94

The Commission also noted that a recent meeting of ETSI=92s general
assembly voted to set up a group to examine further changes to the
body=92s standard-setting rules, following a request from a coalition
of leading European telecoms groups.

The new group will examine in particular whether the licensing fees
for the use of a patented technology should be set in advance of a
new standard.

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Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org,
www.cptech.org

Consumer Project on Technology
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