ACT: FCC Has Authority to Intervene in ATSC 3.0 Patent Licensing

The FCC has “clear authority" to act and a “necessary role” in preventing patent licensing abuses in the ATSC 3.0 market, said ACT | the App Association in a meeting with staff from the Media Bureau and Office of General Counsel Monday. The record in docket 16-142 and experiences with other technical standards show that FCC action “is necessary to avoid the exploitation of fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing commitments voluntarily made by SEP [standard essential patent] holders." Without the FCC's reinforcement and assurances on how the agency views patent license requirements, “innovators seeking to enter the ATSC market will face lockout from competing, to the detriment of American consumers,” ACT said.