European regulator enters Apple, Samsung patent war

Europe's antitrust regulator, The European Commission (EC), has entered the global patent battle between Apple and Samsung by asking both tech giants to provide data related to the enforcement of mobile-related patents.

"The Commission has sent requests for information to Apple and Samsung concerning the enforcement of standards-essential patents in the mobile telephony sector," the EEC yesterday said.

"Such requests for information are standard procedure in antitrust investigations to allow the Commission to establish the relevant facts in a case. We have no other comments at this stage," it added.

The Brussels-based regulator is investigating whether it could legal proceed against both companies in a highly contentious area of mobile telephony patent law.

Under the non-discriminatory FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms, a company holding a patent, has to compulsorily licence it out even to competitors.

FRAND is a licensing obligation that is often required by standard-setting organisations (SSOs) for industry groups that set common standards for a particular industry in order to ensure compatibility and interoperability of devices manufactured by different companies.