Quite an interesting twist to the Micromax-Ericsson lawsuit: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered an antitrust probe against the telecom network equipment maker Ericsson for allegedly charging a higher royalty for its GSM technology patents, reports PTI (via NDTV Profit). Read the CCI order here. CCI said this probe was ordered after it found prima facie evidence of Ericsson indulging in discriminatory trade practices. It mentioned that Ericsson was acting contrary to the FRAND (Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory) terms by charging patent royalties based on the cost of the user product (mobile phone, tablets and others) rather than the product being licensed (chipset), which is discriminatory. For instance, if the GSM chip is used in a Rs 100 phone, the royalty charged is Rs 1.25 whereas if the same GSM chip is used in a Rs 1000 phone, the royalty would shoot up to Rs 12.5, without adding any value to the product of the licensee. The probe follows a complaint from the Indian handset maker Micromax which had claimed that Ericsson was demanding an exorbitant, unfair and discriminatory royalty for its patents. Micromax claimed that the royalty demanded by Ericsson was excessive in comparison to royalties demanded from other patentees for similar or comparable patents held by Ericsson. Micromax-Ericsson lawsuit: Ericsson had earlier filed a patent infringement lawsuit worth Rs 100 crore against Micromax in March 2013, alleging that Micromax had infringed on eight Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) used in its 2G, 3G and 4G devices. This was after Micromax had reportedly refused to sign a FRAND license agreement and a three-year…
