Despite getting entangled in legal cases against Indian handset manufacturers over licensing issues of its IPR, Ericsson is confident that Indian Intellectual Property Rights laws will help the company grow in India. In an interview with BusinessLine , Dina Kallay, Head of Antitrust (IPR, Americas & Asia-Pacific) at Ericsson, talked about how the new Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) licensing will unleash the deployment of 5G in India.

How do you see the IPR regime in India? What more can be done in this area?

Our experience with Indian courts adjudicating our IPR cases has been good. We are encouraged by the courts’ rulings, which have recognised the telecommunication industry’s practice of licensing on the end-device and identified strategic infringement practices by players unwilling to negotiate in good faith toward licences.

Ericsson has tried to enforce patent in India against Indian brands like Micromax and Intex. What is the status of these cases and do you find it difficult to make Indian brands enforce FRAND in India?

The cases against Micromax and Intex are still making their way through court, and we are confident these will reach successful resolution in due course. However, in the meantime Ericsson did successfully sign licensing agreements with several Indian handset players who negotiated with us in good faith.

Do you think, FRAND licensing will continue to be successful and foster growth and innovation in 5G and IoT?

In the cellular technology arena, we are confident it will, and are excited to see the development of the 5G standard take off this year. For Internet of Things (IoT) last year, Ericsson announced an initiative to accelerate the development of IoT devices by establishing a platform for licensing of standardised wireless technology to device manufacturers. This initiative has created a one-stop licensing platform called Avanci whose membership has grown to include Sony, Vodafone, Panasonic, Sharp, KPN, ZTE, Qualcomm, InterDigital and Ericsson of course.

Is there a concern of lack of standardisation when it comes to IPR protection? Each country has different laws and with protectionism rising globally, are there going to more infringements?

Our experience is that FRAND licensing is carried out on a global basis, hence our agreements are typically global. Furthermore, the WTO Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreement, to which India is a signatory, is helpful in ensuring a harmonised minimum level of IPR protection worldwide.

Ericsson has over 42,000 granted patents worldwide, so what is your overall business strategy? Is it a separate business unit? And what kind of revenues are you receiving from it?

Ericsson’s technology leadership in mobile communications is demonstrated by an IPR portfolio of more than 42,000 granted patents (up from 39,000 granted patents in 2015). Through our IPR licensing, the company is able to encourage innovation and re-invest in further development of the communications ecosystem. At the same time, IPR licensing strengthens Ericsson’s position as one of the technology leaders in the ICT industry and ensures a fair return on the company’s R&D investment through FRAND licensing. As you can see for example in Ericsson’s 2016 annual report, IPR & Licensing is an independent unit whose revenues in 2016 were 10 billion Swedish Kroners (appr. $1.22 billion)

How to do create awareness against patent infringement?

Through education, advocacy, and engagement with stakeholders. In India, we have actively participated in Industry forums where all the relevant stakeholders, including start-ups, have come together to discuss policy and patent related issues. Ericsson believes in encouraging Indian start-ups to develop their own IPR footprint. On World IP Day, 26th April, Ericsson granted awards to Indian ICT start-ups along with ASSOCHAM with support of Miety. Globally, the vast majority of Ericsson’s licences and cross-licences were concluded amicably, without any litigation. Ericsson resorts to litigation as a last resort when a party fails to constructively negotiate with it over an extensive period of time.

You have capped royalties at $5 per device for 5G. Why have you changed the approach you have been using so far?

In March this year, Ericsson was the first company to make a public declaration to ETSI of its 5G licensing terms. The declaration says that Ericsson is prepared to grant licences to its portfolio of essential cellular patents, subject to reciprocity by the licence seeker, at a fair and reasonable royalty rate of $5 per 5G/NR multi-mode compliant handset. By disclosing our reasonable royalty rate at this early stage, we wanted to stimulate adoption of the standard once it is released and maintain a healthy ecosystem for the industry.

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