Date: 2014
Type: Thesis
Competition law and standard essential patents : oscillating between protection of patent rights and access to standards
Florence : European University Institute, 2014, EUI, LAW, PhD Thesis
PETROVCIC, Urska, Competition law and standard essential patents : oscillating between protection of patent rights and access to standards, Florence : European University Institute, 2014, EUI, LAW, PhD Thesis - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/32934
Retrieved from Cadmus, EUI Research Repository
This thesis explores the way in which EU and U.S. antitrust rules address opportunistic conducts that emerge in the context of standard essential patents (SEPs). The analysis finds that the two systems have very different scopes in addressing those practices: conduct lawful under U.S. antitrust law is condemned by the EU competition law and vice versa. In contrast to other fields of antitrust, the differences between the EU and U.S. approach do not arise from the application of different legal standards, but rather reflect the core divergences in the statutory texts that address unilateral practices. The analysis also shows that both in the European Union and in the United States, competition authorities have tried to increase the scope of competition law—first, by stretching the antitrust doctrines outside established borders, and second, by advocacy measures designed to avoid opportunism related to SEPs. The thesis shows, nonetheless, that both approaches are problematic and a more cautious strategy is needed to avoid the risk of injecting imbalance in the standardization context.
Additional information:
Defence date: 23 September 2014; Examining Board:
Professor Giorgio Monti, European University Institute (Supervisor); Professor Petros Mavroidis, European University Institute; Professor Dr. Thomas Ackermann, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; Professor Dr. Hanns Ullrich, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Munich
Cadmus permanent link: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/32934
Full-text via DOI: 10.2870/19734
Series/Number: EUI; LAW; PhD Thesis
Publisher: European University Institute
LC Subject Heading: Competition, Unfair -- European Union countries; Antitrust law -- European Union countries; Patent licenses -- European Union countries; Competition, Unfair -- United States; Antitrust law -- United States; Patent licenses -- United States
Published version: http://hdl.handle.net/1814/36338