Hasta La Gadget!

Google and the European Commission have been doing their seemingly interminable antitrust dance for three years now, but today’s development might signal a shift in the tides. In July, the EU’s Competition Commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, had deemed Google’s previous concession offer unworthy and informed Eric Schmidt that the company had to “present better proposals.” According to The New York Times, Google has evidently heeded his words and ponied up a new offer that’s evidently enough to please the antitrust chief, although specific terms have yet to be disclosed.

At the heart of the problem is Google’s tendency to squeeze its rivals (including, but not limited to, Microsoft, Foundem and Hotmaps) out of search results, making it difficult for users to find them. The new offer allegedly addresses those concerns, and while it’s unlikely that a decision will be made earlier than next spring, the EU’s tentative approval of Google’s efforts could mean that case is inching its way to a settlement. Almunia has said that he intends to present the proposal to the complainants in the case, who seem less than enthused. David Wood, the legal counsel for the Microsoft-backed Initiative for a Competitive Online Marketplace (ICOMP) told the Times, “It is far from clear from Commissioner Almunia’s description of the revised package of proposed commitments that they go nearly far enough.”

Filed under: Misc, Internet, Google

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Source: The New York Times, Reuters

It’s no secret that European Commission regulators dislike roaming charges. However, The Guardian now hears from sources that the Commission may propose legislation next week that eliminates those charges altogether. Carriers would reportedly have to charge the same service rates in every European Union country, forming alliances in nations where they don’t operate. Networks that don’t scrap roaming fees by July 2014 would also have to give customers a choice of foreign providers. Subscribers wouldn’t even have to swap SIM cards or phone numbers, according to The Guardian. A spokesman for the Commission’s Neelie Kroes declined comment on the rumor, but noted that the agency wants roaming “out of the market” — clearly, the cellular status quo won’t last for long.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: The Guardian

After the European Commission accepted offers from Apple and four publishers to free up e-book pricing restrictions in December 2012, it’s now accepted Penguin’s commitment to do the same. Much like Penguin’s vow to the US DOJ, it will end its agency agreements with Apple and other retailers, and “most-favored nation” clauses will be absent from any new deals struck over the next five years. Most importantly, e-book retailers will now be able to control prices and discounts of Penguin’s catalog for two years. This legally binding pledge essentially brings an end to EC’s “competitive concerns,” as all involved in the original price-fixing investigation have now settled up.

Filed under: Apple

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Via: Reuters

Source: European Commission

Starting today, anyone hopping between EU member countries with their smartphone will see roaming charge caps substantially cut across networks and services. As promised by the EU Commission’s VP Neelie Kroes last week, new price caps will drop call charges by “at least 17 percent,” while receiving calls are reduced by 12 percent per minute starting today. Text message costs are down 11 percent, while (perhaps most importantly) data charges across networks in Europe have been cut by 36 percent, down to 45 Euro cents per MB — 91 percent cheaper than they were in 2007.

The commission says it has managed achieve price reductions of over 80 percent across mobile services in the last six years, but it isn’t done there. Further price caps are promised for the same time next year too, as you can see after the break, with roaming data charges set to be further halved (down to 20 cents) by July 2014, with voice calls and text charges also seeing further, admittedly less substantial, reductions. Now, let’s see how the EU fares on those ridding the old country of throttled data speeds.

Image credit: Die Bundeskanzlerin

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: Europa (EU), @NeelieKroesEU (Twitter)

It was almost a year ago to the day that the European Commission began investigating Motorola over reported abuse of its standard-essential patents (SEPs), and now the regulators have a little more to say on the matter. The Commission has issued Motorola Mobility a Statement of Objections, which doesn’t mean any judgment has been reached, but lets the company know its preliminary view, and it ain’t good news. According to these initial findings, Motorola wanting an injunction against Apple in Germany based on some of its GPRS-related SEPs — the particular legal encounter that was the catalyst for a complaint by Cupertino and ultimately, the EC’s investigation — “amounts to an abuse of a dominant position prohibited by EU antitrust rules.” Motorola originally said it would license these patents under FRAND terms when they became standard-essential, which Apple was happy to pay for. However, the company pursued an injunction nonetheless.

The Commission’s statement goes on to say that while injunctions can be necessary in certain disputes, where there is potential for an agreement under FRAND terms, companies with bulging SEP portfolios should not be allowed to request injunctions “in order to distort licensing negotiations and impose unjustified licensing terms on patent licensees.” Joaquín Almunia, the Commission Vice President who’s responsible for competition policy, echoed what we’ve heard from other important folks entrenched in the never-ending patent battlefield (such as Judge Koh), saying: “I think that companies should spend their time innovating and competing on the merits of the products they offer — not misusing their intellectual property rights to hold up competitors to the detriment of innovation and consumer choice.” So, what happens next? Motorola will first have its right to address the statement before the EC makes a final decision, but it’s looking like a fine is headed the company’s way. Hopefully, the outcome will also have a wider impact on patent cases of the future, so companies will spend more time making shiny things for us, and less on courtroom squabbles.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple, Google

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Via: Reuters

Source: European Commission