Companies that want to produce 3G equipment currently need to comply with technical specifications set forth in a standard called IMT-200 3G, which comprises five different 3G technologies. They also need to have access to certain "essential" patents associated with these technologies.
The set of agreements dealing with 3G essential patents was submitted to the Commission in 2000 by a group of telcos and mobile phone makers including Alcatel, France Telecom, Mitsubishi, DoCoMo, Sony, Samsung and Telecom Italia Mobile.
The agreements set up procedures to identify which patents are essential, to streamline licensing and to reduce overall licence fees to be paid for the entire portfolio of essential patents.
In order to get the Commission's approval, the group agreed to re-structure the agreements so that they don't combine all patents in one single platform. Moreover, the agreements are limited to essential patents only and licensing will be carried out without discriminatory terms or exchange of competitively sensitive information.
The Commission said it also took account that a number of major 3G essential patent holders, such as Ericsson, Nokia and Motorola, are not party to the agreements.
According to the Commission, this means that a significant number of essential patents will remain outside of the arrangement and therefore competition will not be affected.
The Commission's decision is limited to the specific set of agreements and does not extend to any other initiatives of 3G standard setting bodies and industry groups.