Today, ACT | The App Association released a statement regarding speeches made by Rebecca Slaughter, commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Jennifer Dixton of the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) at the American National Standards Institute:
“The remarks from Commissioner Slaughter and Ms. Dixton are welcome signals that reaffirm the role antitrust law has in standards setting. We applaud Commissioner Slaughter for stating the FTC should investigate violations and focus enforcement where smaller enterprises face harm — not where large companies are arguing with each other on licensing disputes. We also thank Ms. Dixton for her continued reinforcement of a needed shift towards balancing competition with licensing of standard-essential patents (SEPs).
“On behalf of our members, we thank Commissioner Slaughter for her leadership in championing a balanced standards system that allows all innovators, no matter their size, to license SEPs on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms and pro-actively addressing anticompetitive abuses such as patent hold-up, refusal to license, and other exclusionary conduct. We look forward to working with the FTC, DOJ, and other agencies to enact policies that support American competition and innovation.”