Discord over patent-fee model
The EU is drawing up guidelines on how much patent holders should charge for their technology, a thorny issue that pits Apple and other users against Qualcomm and Ericsson.
Trillions of dollars in sales are at stake as regulators ponder whether a fridge maker should pay a different rate to a car maker for crucial patents, or whether a flat, fixed rate would be fairer.
The patent fee model used by the world’s leading smartphone chip designer Qualcomm, which bases royalties on a product’s total cost, predominates in the technology industry but is opposed by Apple and others in Silicon Valley.
Other models are in use and the EU aims to set a uniform one for Europe, opening a new front in a global dispute that has already seen several lawsuits between Apple and Qualcomm.
Antti Peltomaki, deputy director-general at the European Commission, told a conference last week the EU hopes to finalise its guidelines by the end of 2017.
The move is part of the bloc’s broader push to set new rules for internet-connected devices beyond only computers and smartphones to cover cars, home automation and energy devices, aiming to ensure job creation in the so-called Internet of Things era. The commission has yet to make a final decision on which fee model it favours.
Silicon Valley tech giants have sided with Apple, as have large Asian electronics makers who work for Apple. Qualcomm is backed by mobile phone and network patent holders Ericsson and Nokia.