The EU Commission sends a statement of objections to a telecom operator over standard-essential patents (Motorola Mobility)

On 6 May 2013, the European Commission announced that it had formally sent Motorola Mobility a Statement of Objections (SO) over the company’s alleged misuse of mobile phone standard essential patents (SEPs). The Commission believes that Motorola Mobility abused its dominant position in relation to these SEPs, in breach of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The move follows the Commission’s opening of an antitrust investigation on the issue back in April 2012. Having conducted its investigation, the Commission now takes the preliminary view that Motorola Mobility abused its dominant position by unreasonably seeking and enforcing an SEP-related injunction against Apple before the German courts. The injunction involved a prohibition to sell the