Chinese court enforces mandatory licensing for "essential facility" patents in antitrust case
Click here to read the full article onlineA ruling in the China’s Ningbo Intermediate People’s Court marks the first time that a Chinese court has applied the essential facility doctrine, a controversial mandatory access remedy imposed on dominant companies, to non-standard-essential patent licensing. The court ruled that Hitachi Metals ("Hitachi") abused its dominance by refusing to license patents necessary for the production of sintered neodymium-iron-boron ("sintered NdFeB"). The case has dragged on for seven years and Hitachi has reportedly appealed the ruling to the Supreme People’s Court.