EU antitrust regulators may open an investigation into a patent dispute between Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc to ensure patent holders do not thwart rivals, the EU’s antitrust chief said on Friday.<\/p>\n
Last month Microsoft took its case to the European Commission, saying Motorola Mobility was charging too much for use of its patents in Microsoft products.<\/p>\n
Motorola Mobility said Apple had also complained to the EU watchdog about its patents.<\/p>\n
Google Inc, which is in the process of buying Motorola Mobility, has said it will offer Motorola patents on fair and reasonable terms once the deal is completed.<\/p>\n
The EU watchdog, which is also investigating whether legal tactics used by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd against Apple breach EU antitrust rules, may open a second patent case into the sector, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said.<\/p>\n
“I am considering whether we need to investigate these complaints formally to help bring more clarity into this area of competition control,” Almunia said in the text of a speech to be delivered at a conference in Washington.<\/p>\n
“The holders of standard-essential patents have considerable market power. This market power can be used to harm competition … I don’t need to tell you that this is unacceptable, and I am determined to use antitrust enforcement to prevent such hold-up by patent holders,” he said.<\/p>\n
The Commission, which can fine companies up to 10 percent of their global turnover, has levied billions of euros in penalties against Microsoft, Intel and others for breaching EU rules.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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