Telecom Sector And Unfair PracticesAs more and more technology companies lock horns in court rooms across the world, the battlefield for telecom players globally seems to have moved beyond the market place.

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In recent past, we have seen a phenomenal rise in litigations involving telecom companies, most of which are over intellectual property right (IPR) violations.

Huawei’s recent lawsuit against ZTE over the infringement of its registered patents is the latest in a series of the IPR infringement cases filed by many other players such as Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Network, Apple and Samsung.

And while all this means good business for the legal fraternity, it does raise serious questions over trade practices being adopted by some companies and the need for them to be fair in their operations.

With competition intensifying and margins being squeezed, royalty payment through patent rights has become a significant revenue stream for many technology companies. More importantly, innovation itself is critical for these companies as that is critical for their future.

While some experts argue that a market place should be the ideal platform for companies to compete, the need for a even playing field and avoidance of unfair practices is paramount. This explains the urgency with which telecom players need to secure and protect IPRs and their efforts to develop a positive IPR environment, especially in emerging economies.

Many IPR violation law suits are being filed broadly on two fronts. The first is the smart-phone category where every other player seems to be indulging in a tit-for-tat game. Recently, for instance, Nokia sued Apple once again in the US International Trade Commission alleging that the latter infringes on Nokia patents.