The European Commission (EC) said that Google’s Motorola Mobility abused its dominant position when it sought an injunction against Apple in Germany on the basis of a GPRS SEP.
The commission said while recourse to injunctions is a possible remedy for patent infringements, such conduct may be abusive where standard-essential patents are concerned and the potential licensee is willing to enter into a licence on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.
EC said that it had reached a preliminary view on a competition investigation opened in April last year.
The patents in question relate to GPRS, a part of the GSM standard, which is a key industry standard for mobile and wireless communications.
Motorola said it would license the patents to Apple which it had declared essential to the standard on FRAND terms.
EC vice president in charge of competition policy Joaquín Almunia said: "The protection of intellectual property is a cornerstone of innovation and growth. But so is competition."
"I think that companies should spend their time innovating and competing on the merits of the products they offer – not misusing their intellectual property rights to hold up competitors to the detriment of innovation and consumer choice," Almunia said.
Motorola spokeswoman Katie Dove told AFP, "We agree with the European Commission that injunctions should only be sought against unwilling licensees and, in this case, Motorola Mobility followed the procedure established."
"Apple had to make six offers before the court recognised them as a willing licensee," Dove said.
