The European Union is drawing up guidelines on how much patent holders should charge for their technologies, a thorny issue that pits Apple[1] and other users against Qualcomm[2] and Ericsson[3].
Trillions of dollars in sales are at stake as regulators ponder whether a fridge maker should pay a different rate for crucial patents than a carmaker, or whether a flat, fixed rate would be fairer.
The patent fee model used by world No. 1 smartphone chip designer Qualcomm predominates in the tech industry and is based on how much value a technology adds to a product, but is opposed by Apple and others in Silicon Valley[4].
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 multiple lawsuits between Apple and Qualcomm[5].
Antti Peltomaki, deputy director general at the European Commission, told a conference last week that the EU hopes to finalise its guidelines by the end of the year. They will not be legally binding but could provide a basis if the EU executive decides to enact rules in future.
The move is part of the bloc's broader push to set new rules of the road for Internet-connected devices beyond just computers and smartphones to cover cars, home automation and energy devices, aiming to ensure job creation and other economic benefits in the so-called Internet of Things (IoT)[6] era.
Qualcomm's patent fee model is based on the widely used so-called "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" (FRAND) licensing model. The European Commission, however, has yet to make a final decision on which technology patent fee model it...