Florence Competition Programme third annual conference : competition law and standard essential patents : testing the limits of extra-territorial enforcement

On 12th October, 2018, the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies hosted the third Annual Conference of the Florence Competition Programme (FCP) at the European University Institute’s (EUI’s) campus in Florence. The conference discussed the challenges that are linked to abuses of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) vis-à-vis the extra-territorial enforcement of competition law. Following a keynote speech, delivered by Guillaume Loriot, Director for Markets and Cases II: Information, Communication and Media of DG Competition at the European Commission, the event was divided into two panels, which dealt, respectively, with: i) Licensing SEPs and the question of when the license terms are Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory; and ii) SEPs and extraterritorial competition law enforcement. The final roundtable discussion focused on the role of Standard-Setting (or Development) Organisations (SSOs or SDOs) in preventing competition law infringements. The event gathered several different stakeholders, including competition enforcers and representatives from academia, industry, law and economic consulting firms. The diversity of views ensured a lively debate throughout the event. The present Policy Brief summarises the main points raised during the discussion while seeking to stimulate further debate