SC agrees to consider CCI plea against Monsanto, Ericsson

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to telecom major Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson and agrichemical giant Monsanto Holdings on the Competition Commission of India’s appeals against a Delhi High Court’s order that quashed the antitrust proceedings against the two companies on the grounds that the regulator does not have jurisdiction to inquire into the business of licensing of patents or any abuse of dominant position by a patent holder.

The CCI has contested the high court’s July ruling that had held that any issue on patent rights must be addressed under the Patents Act, 1970, which is a special law, and any issue related to a party’s exercise of its patent rights will be addressed exclusively under it, not the Competition Act, 2002.