SEP Injunctions and the Balance of IPRs and Competition in India

Professor V.K. Unni of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta has authored a short and concise opinion paper titled, Promoting Innovation: Moving Towards a Better Intellectual Property Regime, in the Financial Express.  His paper discusses the importance of finding the right balance between patent rights and competition law with respect to standard essential patents for India.  Interestingly, he observes that in India injunctive relief has been granted relatively frequently with respect to standard essential patents held by Ericsson against Indian companies, particularly when compared to pharmaceuticals.  He notes that, “the Delhi High Court [recently] held that laws dealing with protection of IPR and competition do not have any irreconcilable repugnancy or conflict, and upheld the jurisdiction of the [Competition Commission of India] to entertain complaints dealing with abuse of dominance against the patent holder.”  The article is available, here.