Standard Essential Patents in Motion: EU Guidance on Collaborative Licensing in the Automotive Sector

The European Commission has issued an informal guidance letter offering antitrust guidance for the establishment of the Automotive Licensing Negotiation Group (ALNG). This group would facilitate collective negotiations for licences to use technologies protected by standard essential patents (SEPs) in the automotive sector. With this initiative, the Commission seeks to enhance the competitiveness of the EU automotive industry, aligning with the goals outlined in the Industrial Action Plan for the European Automotive Sector introduced in March 2025.

The Commission has clarified that the ALNG does not raise concerns under Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), provided that its operations adhere to the following conditions: 

• ALNG negotiates licences for standards that are not specific to the automotive sector, and in respect of which the combined market share of the ALNG members does not exceed 15% of the total demand for the SEPs or standards concerned.
• ALNG is open to other interested companies in the automotive sector, both car manufacturers and component suppliers, to join if they wish.
• Negotiations with ALNG are voluntary for SEP holders, meaning that SEP holders are free to enter into a negotiation and to terminate it at any time.
• Exchanges of information between ALNG members are limited to what is objectively necessary to conduct the joint licensing negotiations, and no commercially sensitive information is shared between members of ALNG.