New EU guidance: Automotive players can collectively negotiate licenses for technologies protected by Standard Essential Patents

BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and ThyssenKrupp have received the European Commission’s blessing to collectively negotiate patent licences, for technologies protected by Standard Essential Patents (SEPs), such as 4G, 5G or Wi-Fi, marking a significant first for antitrust guidance in the EU.

Commission formal guidance

On 9 July 2025, the Commission issued an antitrust guidance letter supporting the formation of a licensing negotiation group (the Automotive Licensing Negotiation Group, ALNG) within the automotive sector. This letter is notable as the Commission’s first formal guidance under its 2022 Notice on Informal Guidance, which allows businesses to seek informal guidance from the Commission on the application of EU competition rules to novel or unresolved questions.

Guidance letters are not Commission decisions. They do not bind the EU courts and Member States' competition authorities or courts. 

Legality of intellectual property rights licensing agreements in the EU

Licensing Negotiation Groups (LNGs) are considered to be a novel form of agreements on the licensing of IP rights in the EU. Intervening on SEP licencing as its first guidance letter also illustrates the Commission’s willingness to tackle one of the more controversial, as well as commercially complex, topics in EU competition law. 

The Commission’s assessment covered market shares, cost impacts and how the agreement’s anticipated efficiencies fit with the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal objectives. According to the Commission, the ALNG does not raise antitrust concerns, provided certain conditions are met. These include limiting the ALNG’s share of SEP demand to no more than 15% and keeping the group open to other automotive players in the auto sector. 

In 2024, the German competition authority approved the ALNG under similar, but arguably less strict, conditions.

Looking ahead - providing legal certainty to support the EU strategic agenda

On the same day, the Commission provided a parallel guidance letter to APM Terminals and port operators regarding a joint purchasing and minimum technical specifications setting agreement, which the Commission also anticipates to contribute to EU’s Clean Industrial Deal. 

These developments demonstrate the regulator’s incentive to support and provide legal certainty to “companies that pursue the EU’s strategic goals” (Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition). The Draghi Report on EU competitiveness puts great emphasis on simplifying rules and ensuring predictability in order to stimulate greater productivity, investment, and innovation.