경쟁사업자 공동의 표준설정 및 표준특허의 기회주의적 행사와 EU 경쟁법

Standard setting occurs across jurisdictional boundaries. Absent convergence, companies engaged in multi-jurisdictional standard setting may face disparate and conflicting legal standards with regard to their conduct. The EU Recently released the new guidelines (2011 Guidelines) that offer detailed guidance on the assessment of various types of agreements between horizontal competitors, including specific guidance about agreements in the standard setting process and provide a safe harbor for certain standard setting processes. As with many EU guidelines, 2011 Guidelines are not binding on businesses as a matter of law, although they do bind the EU in its assessment of horizontal agreements between companies under Article 101 of the TFEU. Thus, they provide helpful insight into how the EU (as well as the national competition authorities in member states) is likely to assess a horizontal agreement. The 2011 Guidelines therefore provide important guideposts for companies engaging with their competitors while simultaneously aspiring to avoid antitrust scrutiny by the EU. Considering the magnitude and global characteristics of Korean ICT industries and standard patent licensing practices, enforcement of the Korean Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act in this field needs to be consistent with that of major trading partners such as the US and EU.