Maybe everyone has never thought that because Daimler was unwilling to pay communication technology patent fees to Nokia and Sharp, it was sued in a German court and lost twice. The result of this defeat is very serious. This may result in this important German car company not being able to sell cars in Germany.
The "possible" mentioned here is because Nokia and Sharp did not pay a deposit to the court and adopted an injunction.
This "deposit system" is a buffer zone in German law, and it is also a gamble. If the losing party needs to appeal the ruling, the winning party can only enforce the injunction by providing collateral. The money is a bond that will turn into compensation if the appeal is successful.
In Nokia’s case, as long as Nokia paid a deposit of 700 million euros, in Sharp’s case, the deposit was only 5.5 million euros. If they pay immediately, all Daimler brands will be immediately banned from sale in Germany.
Daimler is obviously more familiar with German law and immediately filed an appeal, making these lawsuits temporarily an embarrassing matter for who wins.
The reason why these communication companies and car companies just entered the market is because of a patent licensing platform called Avanci LLC. This platform is composed of a bunch of companies that hold communication patents, as shown in the picture below.
Before there was this platform, car companies asked parts suppliers to come forward and deal with licensing issues with patent companies. Car companies only purchased parts from suppliers, which included various patent licensing fees, such as Daim Le purchased a set of automotive telematics control components, paying only $100 to the supplier and shirking all other responsibilities.
However, the Avanci LLC platform charges patent fees directly from car companies. Patents involving connected cars are divided into three levels - emergency call, 3G and 4G. The fees are US$3-15 per vehicle respectively. Moreover, the Avanci LLC platform is pricing 5G patents. By then, it will no longer just be a matter of $15 for a car.
Nowadays, cars are becoming more and more intelligent, and more than one or two communication patents are required. Each of them charges such a fee, and car companies have become the one being squeezed, and they have to bear more. legal liability.
In the face of the formation of Internet companies, car companies and parts companies have also formed groups. Navigation companies TomTom, Bosch and Continental are all helping Daimler appeal.
However, the day after Sharp won the lawsuit, the Texas Federal Court dismissed Continental’s lawsuit, holding that the patent licensing platform’s direct licensing to car companies did not violate antitrust laws. Just maximizing.
Car review: As more and more Internet of Vehicles technologies become available, car prices are also rising. Even if car companies reduce allocations to reduce costs, an Internet patent fee has raised the price again.
No wonder car companies now have to develop their own Internet of Vehicles technology in order to control their own destiny.
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.