The German Federal Supreme Court decides about the “compulsory license defense” in a patent infringement suit

According to a decision of the German Federal Supreme Court a patent infringer which is producing in correspondence with a patented industrial standard, can, under fairly narrow conditions rely on a “compulsory license defense” on the basis of anti-trust law. A precondition of this defense is that the patent infringer has asked for a license under reasonable terms. Moreover, the patent owner must, by denying the grant of a license, have violated anti-trust law namely the rule to not hamper another company by discrimination in the absence of reasonable grounds. Moreover, the payment of a reasonable license fee must be secured, e.g. by means of a deposition.