The US Court of the Western District of Washington finds that the patented technology didn’t play a significant role in the overall functionality of the plaintiff’s products (Microsoft / Motorola)

District Court Enters the FRAND Fray* A number of federal court decisions and recent enforcement actions by the US antitrust agencies have highlighted the importance of abiding by commitments to license patents that have been declared essential (SEPs) on “fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory” (RAND or FRAND) terms. There has been, however, no specific guidance by the courts or agencies on how to determine a FRAND royalty rate or range – until now. The US District Court for the Western District of Washington recently issued a 207-page opinion taking on the FRAND task [1]. Background Since it can be difficult or even impossible to change a standard once it has been adopted, the holder of intellectual property rights in technology incorporated in and purportedly essential to a