To Grant or Not to Grant Injunctions in the World of Standard Essential Patents

Abstract

Competition law is a complex law that is ever evolving and finds itself face to face not only with difficult theories of economics and market definition but also with intellectual property law. This interaction between Competition law and Intellectual Property law can be starkly seen in the world of Standard Essential Patents. With the increase in investment in innovation and knowledge, there has been an increase in technological advancements and inventions such as in the field of electronics communications and networks. Subsequently, this has led to the rise in the importance of interoperability. This is where standards, standard-setting organizations and standard essential patents become important. It may seem, especially in this context, that competition law and intellectual property law are in conflict. However, that is necessarily not the case. In this paper, a small aspect of this conflict will be analysed: – whether injunctions should be granted for FRAND-encumbered standard essential patents or not. For this, global trends and the Indian scenario have been studied. The study concludes by suggesting a balance be maintained between both the laws and between the rights of the standard essential patent holder and the standard implementer. © 2023 Michelle Dias and Mudita Gairola.