HC asks CCI not to pass any order on probe against Ericsson

The Delhi High Court today asked the Competition Commission of India (CCI) not to pass any order in respect of the investigation being conducted against telecom major Ericsson for alleged unfair trade practices.
A bench of Justice Manmohan said till the time the petition before it is not decided, CCI may carry on with the probe but it shall not pass any order.
The CCI had in November 2013 ordered investigations into allegations that Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson is demanding exorbitant royalty rates for providing its standard GSM technology patents.
The investigation was ordered on a complaint by handset maker Micromax which had complained that Sweden-based Ericsson was demanding unfair, discriminatory and exorbitant royalty for its GSM technology-related patents.

The CCI had in its order held it to be a fit case for through investigation by the Director General into the allegations made by Micromax and violations, if any, of the provisions of the Competition Act.
It had also said that prima facie it was apparent that Ericsson is dominant in the market of GSM and CDMA (telecom technology standards) in India and holds large number of such patents.