As part of its bid to resolve an ongoing dispute with the European Union, Samsung has reportedly proposed to EU to stop suing other companies over “standard-essential” patents (SEPs) for the next five years.
The Korean giant submitted its proposal in September, after regulators accused it of stifling innovation by seeking injunctions against Apple and other competitors based on SEPs.
According to Joaquín Almunia, the European Commission’s VP in charge of competition policy, enforcing patents through injunctions can be perfectly legitimate. “However, when patents are standard-essential, abuses must be prevented so that standard-setting works properly and consumers do not have to suffer negative consequences from the so-called patent wars. If we reach a good solution in this case, it will bring clarity to the industry,” she added.
The EU formally accused Samsung of antitrust violations in December 2012, threatening the company with a huge fine that could reach as much as $18.3 billion. And yes, we’re sure Sammy wants to settle and avoid such rough penalty…