Patent Licensing Experts Discuss FRAND Licensing Dispute

This case involves a securities fraud suit leveled against an international telecommunications firm, which was allegedly involved in anti-competitive practices through the licensing of patents under FRAND. The firm, which designed and manufactured components used in telecommunications, was allegedly charging exorbitant licensing fees for the use of a standard-essential patent. The patent in question was a critical component of high-bandwidth wireless communications, and the alleged actions of the patent holder were supposedly done with the aim of limiting competition in the space.

Question(s) For Expert Witness

1. Are you able to determine if this company's practices were anti-competitive in the telecom industry under FRAND?

Expert Witness Response E-116505

I have a Ph.D. in economics from Yale, and I have now testified in about 10 telecom FRAND cases, and I am currently working on several others. Many of these have an explicit antitrust claim, or a similar competition-based allegation. Because I specialize in the intersection of competition and IP, I am very familiar with the arguments and with the tension between these two disciplines. I have also testified in IP cases in which the measure of damages was the change in stock market value of the firm. It would be straightforward to defend against the claim given the current state of FRAND law and the firm's disclosure duties under the securities laws.