EU Ends Antitrust Probe After ETSI Changes Patent Rules
BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- The European Commission Monday closed an antirust investigation into the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, a group that sets the industry's technology standards.
The France-based group last month changed its rules on patent disclosure to prevent "patent ambush" in setting industry standards, the Commission said in a statement.
Patent ambush occurs when a company hides the fact that it owns intellectual property rights crucial to a standard. After the standard has been decided, the company then discloses its patents to reap the profits. In the process, the standard setters can lose sight of alternative, less-expensive technologies, the Commission said.
"It is crucial that standard-setting bodies establish rules which ensure fair, transparent procedures and early disclosure of relevant intellectual property," European Union antitrust chief Neelie Kroes said in a statement.
The Commission said that while its formal investigation is now closed, it will continue to follow ETSI's standard-setting rules.
-By Adam Cohen, Dow Jones Newswires; +322 741 1486; adam.cohen@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires "
Posted to the site on 12th December 2005
