ReadWriteEnterprise

Could the growing number of device manufacturers demanding intellectual property royalties of somewhere around 2.25% per device sold be establishing a de facto cartel, establishing fees that collectively render it impossible for new competitors to enter the field? That would appear to be the subject matter to which European Commission Vice President Joaquin Almunia alluded during a speech in Paris last Friday.

Comm. Almunia now has the job made famous by Comm. Neelie Kroes during her relentless pursuit of Microsoft as Commissioner for Competition. During Friday's speech, Almunia appeared to suggest that a new enforcement mechanism may be necessary to prevent manufacturers from establishing barriers to entry under the guise of "FRAND" - fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory - licensing terms.