Europe told to budge on patent rules

Mobile phone providers are to lobby the organisation that sets Europe's telecoms standards today in a bid to change the way intellectual property rights (IPR) are dealt with.

Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone and other providers claim the European Telecommunications Standards Institute's (ETSI) rules on IPR mean they have to pay out "excessive" royalties, according to the Financial Times.

The European Commission has already urged ETSI to change rules so members are prevented from performing a "patent ambush" – where companies make patented technology into an industry standard without telling others and then demand royalties if it is used elsewhere.

The operators are asking for a capped maximum royalty amount and that IPR should be agreed on before a standard is set.

The group is said to highlight that 3G and newer technologies, such as MP3, are currently affected by IPR.

Other telcos associated with lobbying ETSI include Alcatel, Portugal Telecom and Swisscom.