News
Patent Experts from Analysis Group Examine Proposed Competence Center for Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) in Europe
In “Global Issues In EU's Licensing Plans For Essential Patents,” published on Law360.com, Senior Advisor Eliana Garces, Vice President Josh White, and Managing Principal John Jarosz discuss the European Commission’s (EC’s) regulatory proposal to establish a competence center for registering and assessing standard essential patents (SEPs). According to the authors, the proposed regulation, released in April 2023, is intended to “facilitate the licensing of SEPs in the EU, with the hope of greatly reducing the costs and uncertainties associated with the growing volume of SEP litigation.”
Acknowledging that the EC “aims to shift SEP licensing from a somewhat inconsistent and secret set of bilateral negotiations to one that is open and governed by a central body that will apply understandable and predictable guideposts,” the authors examine elements of the proposal that they believe may pose challenges the EC will need to address as it moves forward. They raise questions regarding the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s (EUIPO’s) lack of experience with patent licensing and technology standards; the principles and time frame being proposed for making FRAND determinations; and the willingness of patent holders to submit to a registration and FRAND conciliation process that would release large amounts of information in the public domain.
Associated People
Joshua White
Managing PrincipalMr White is a consulting and testifying economist who specialises in applying microeconomics and sophisticated econometric modelling to complex litigation and merger-related questions, primarily in matters involving the health care, financial services and technology industries. He has supported clients in various jurisdictions and industries in follow-on competition damages litigation, assessing overcharge, upstream and downstream pass-on and volume effects. He has served as a testifying expert in the UK Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Amsterdam District Court on competition cases.
Mr White has supported high-profile companies with complex merger reviews across multiple jurisdictions, including in the Veolia/Suez, LVMH/Tiffany, Sika/MBCC and Eutelsat/OneWeb mergers. He has also provided evidence to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the European Commission (EC), including on behalf of clients involved in cartel investigations, abuse of dominance investigations and mergers. Mr White has also provided support to European financial and competition regulators in coordinated conduct investigations.
Mr White has extensive experience addressing competition and intellectual property (IP) issues in matters related to cutting-edge pharmaceutical products and FRAND licensing questions. As part of this work, he has supported a number of scientific and technical experts in front of courts and regulatory bodies. He also regularly supports pharmaceutical clients on competition issues around market access, pricing, denigration and competition from generic manufacturers.
Mr White has worked in a number of jurisdictions, including the UK, the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Belgium and the US. His writing has been published in an array of journals, including the Journal of European Competition Law & Practice, the Competition Law Journal and the Journal of Antitrust Enforcement, and he regularly speaks at international competition law and policy conferences.