ICC arbitration on behalf of a large phone manufacturer

In an ICC arbitration, Dr. Mario Lopez was retained by a Global 200 law firm working on behalf of a large phone manufacturer to provide an expert opinion on the royalty rates that are consistent with competitive pricing for standard essential patents (SEPs) used in mobile phones. Dr. Lopez and his team at CRA reviewed conceptual issues related to SEPs and competition, such as the hold-up problem, and did empirical analyses of royalty rates based on the strength of companies’ patent portfolio, and based on the royalty rates in comparable licenses signed by other, similarly situated, market participants. The analyses covered issues including how to account for exchange of value implied in cross-licensing rights, how to determine an appropriate overall royalty rate, and how to correctly account for the widely varying patent portfolio strength the licensor has in different countries when estimating a competitive royalty rate.