The FRAND transparency paradox: non-discrimination, confidentiality and comparable licences in standard essential patent litigation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18256/2238-0604.2026.v22i.5407Keywords:
Standard Essential Patents; FRAND; Non-Discrimination; Comparable Licenses; Confidentiality; Institutional VerifiabilityAbstract
Standard Essential Patent (SEP) litigation increasingly relies on comparable licenses to determine fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. Yet the contractual information required for comparison is frequently protected by confidentiality clauses, non-disclosure agreements, trade secrets and procedural restrictions on access. This article examines how the non-discrimination limb of FRAND can remain legally verifiable under those conditions. Using a qualitative, comparative, and doctrinal legal approach, it analyses recent EPO, WIPO, and UKIPO materials together with a deliberately limited set of judicial decisions, particularly InterDigital v. Optis, Samsung v. ZTE, and MediaTek v. Huawei, complemented by recent Brazilian SEP litigation. The article identifies a FRAND Transparency Paradox: the law increasingly requires comparison while simultaneously protecting the information necessary to perform it. It argues that resolving this tension does not require unrestricted disclosure of comparable licenses, but rather institutional verifiability—procedural conditions under which materially relevant confidential information can be examined and meaningfully challenged without unnecessary public disclosure. The article proposes three parameters for that architecture: protected access, contextual verification and public reasoning. Confidentiality may remain legitimate; it should not operate as evidentiary blindness.
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