Under its settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Google Inc. agreed to a consent order requiring that it offer rivals a chance to license its standard-essential patents (SEPs) on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) terms, and that it abandon its claims for injunctive relief on any of its SEPs with a FRAND commitment.

The consent decree is only binding on Google, but in the ongoing debate over SEPs, it's one of the brighter lines in the area, says David Long, a member at Dow Lohnes.

“It's fairly significant because it's [an SEP-related matter] where action was actually taken,” Long says. “When you're in an area like this where there are a lot of questions about what to do, any kind of guidance is going to have an impact. Even though it's not binding, it will be something that courts and others will [give weight to] when they address the same issue.”

The FTC's approach here also generally falls in line with a joint policy statement that the Justice Department and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued Jan. 8, in which they said courts should implement monetary damages rather than injunctive relief in cases involving SEP infringement.

Under its settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Google Inc. agreed to a consent order requiring that it offer rivals a chance to license its standard-essential patents (SEPs) on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) terms, and that it abandon its claims for injunctive relief on any of its SEPs with a FRAND commitment.

The consent decree is only binding on Google, but in the ongoing debate over SEPs, it's one of the brighter lines in the area, says David Long, a member at Dow Lohnes.

“It's fairly significant because it's [an SEP-related matter] where action was actually taken,” Long says. “When you're in an area like this where there are a lot of questions about what to do, any kind of guidance is going to have an impact. Even though it's not binding, it will be something that courts and others will [give weight to] when they address the same issue.”

The FTC's approach here also generally falls in line with a joint policy statement that the Justice Department and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued Jan. 8, in which they said courts should implement monetary damages rather than injunctive relief in cases involving SEP infringement.