Transatlantic Antitrust and IPR Developments, Issue No. 1/2013 (March 15, 2013)

Editor-in-chief: Juha Vesala, TTLF Fellow

Contributors: Béatrice Martinet Farano, Gabriele Accardo,
Nicole Daniel and Juha Vesala, TTLF Fellows

 

Contents

U.S. DEVELOPMENTS

U.S. Federal Trade Commission announces proposed settlement with Google [Juha Vesala]

U.S. DOJ and PTO issue policy statement on remedies for standards-essential patents subject to (F)RAND commitments [Nicole Daniel]

EU DEVELOPMENTS

CJEU provides guidance on “genuine use” of Community Trade Marks required to avoid revocation for non-use  [Béatrice Martinet Farano]

CJEU holds that the Audiovisual Media Services Directive’s limitation of costs for broadcasting short news events of high interest to the public is valid [Nicole Daniel]

European Commission fines Microsoft for non-compliance with its commitment decision [Gabriele Accardo]

European Commission publishes a proposal for revised rules for technology transfer agreements [Juha Vesala]

Italian Council of State reinstates abuse fine on Bayer Cropscience Srl and Bayer Cropscience AG [Gabriele Accardo]

French Court dismisses Navx’s damages claim against Google for alleged abused of dominance [Gabriele Accardo]

French Competition Authority dismisses E-Kanopi’s complaint against Google [Gabriele Accardo]

Spanish Competition Authority investigates Pfizer for an alleged abuse of dominance [Gabriele Accardo]

German Federal Cartel Office investigates price parity clauses applied by Amazon Marketplace [Gabriele Accardo]

Roche and Novartis investigated for an alleged cartel in Italy [Gabriele Accardo]

German Federal Cartel Office fines broadcasters for encryption of digital free television broadcasts and other unlawful joint practices [Nicole Daniel]

German Bundestag approves a bill creating a new ancillary copyright for news publishers [Béatrice Martinet Farano]

French HADOPI publishes its report on the means of combating online infringement [Béatrice Martinet Farano]

UK High Court issues a new set of simplified blocking orders against pirate website [Béatrice Martinet Farano]

 

U.S. Federal Trade Commission announces proposed settlement with Google

On 3 January 2013 the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that Google Inc. has agreed to not seek injunctive relief against rivals using its essential patents. The FTC also announced that Google has altered its practices in online search and advertising.

U.S. DOJ and PTO issue policy statement on remedies for standards-essential patents subject to (F)RAND commitments

On January 8, 2013 the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a policy statement on remedies for standards-essential patents (SEP) subject to voluntary commitments to license the patents on (fair,) reasonable and non-discriminatory ((F)RAND) terms. They provided their perspectives on “whether injunctive relief in judicial proceedings or exclusion orders in investigations under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 are properly issued when a patent holder seeking such a remedy asserts standards-essential patents that are encumbered by a RAND or FRAND licensing commitment.” They argue that an injunction or exclusion order for a RAND- or FRAND-encumbered SEP may be inconsistent with public policy objectives except where exceptions apply.

CJEU provides guidance on “genuine use” of Community Trade Marks required to avoid revocation for non-use

On 19 December 2012 the Court of Justice of European Union (CJEU) has issued an important decision providing further guidance on the territorial scope of “genuine use” of a Community Trade Mark (CTM) to enable its proprietor to avoid its revocation or attack for non-use.

CJEU holds that the Audiovisual Media Services Directive’s limitation of costs for broadcasting short news events of high interest to the public is valid

On 22 January 2013 the Court of Justice delivered its judgment in the case of Sky Österreich GmbH v Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) (C-283/11). The Court held that the Audiovisual Media Services Directive’s limitation of costs for broadcasting short news events of high interest to the public, such as football matches, is valid.

European Commission fines Microsoft for non-compliance with its commitment decision

On 6 March 2013 the European Commission imposed a Euro 561 million fine on Microsoft for not complying with its previous commitments to address competition concerns related to the tying of Microsoft’s web browser, Internet Explorer, to its dominant client PC operating system Windows. The so called “Article 9 decision” mandated Microsoft to offer users a browser choice screen enabling them to easily choose their preferred web browser.

European Commission publishes a proposal for revised rules for technology transfer agreements

On 20 February 2013 the European Commission published a proposal for revised rules for technology transfer agreements. The rules offer a safe harbor for technology transfer agreements that meet certain criteria and guidance on the assessment of various types of agreements for licensing technology.