According to foreign media reports, the German Cartel Office, a German antitrust agency, has approved a plan for BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen Group, and ThyssenKrupp to jointly purchase wireless technology licenses under certain conditions.
On June 10th, the German cartel office issued a statement stating that these companies have been allowed to form an alliance called the Automotive Licensing Negotiation Group.
The cartel office stated that the automotive industry needs to purchase licenses for thousands of patents to achieve 4G or 5G wireless data transmission in cars. The agency also added that competition rules have allowed some patent owners to bundle their technology rights and authorize them to other companies to establish wireless standards.
The institution stated, "For the first time, our review has focused on cooperation with licensees, so we have made new breakthroughs in the field of competition law, and this progress is of great significance."
To prevent collusion that violates competition, participation in joint negotiations must be voluntary and open to suppliers in the automotive industry, while information exchange must be limited to an "absolutely necessary minimum.".
For the automotive industry, which is transitioning to autonomous vehicle, low emissions and electric vehicles, it is a delicate task to try to jointly formulate new technical standards.
In 2021, the European Commission imposed heavy penalties on German car manufacturers for colluding on clean emission technologies, which harmed the interests of competitors.