Brussels, July 9, 2025 — The European Commission has published informal antitrust guidance on the creation of a Licensing Negotiation Group (LNG) in the automotive sector, designed to facilitate joint negotiations for licenses of technologies covered by standard essential patents (SEPs).
The so-called Automotive Licensing Negotiation Group (ALNG) aims to streamline the licensing of technologies such as 4G, 5G, and WiFi that are critical for digital automotive components. The Commission’s guidance clarifies that, under certain safeguards, the ALNG’s activities comply with EU competition rules, notably Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
Key conditions for compliance include:
- ALNG members must represent no more than 15% of total demand for the relevant SEPs;
- Membership must be open to other automotive companies, including manufacturers and suppliers;
- Participation by SEP holders in negotiations must be voluntary;
- Information exchanges must be limited to what is strictly necessary and exclude commercially sensitive data.
The Commission concluded that ALNG does not restrict competition by object and is unlikely to cause significant competitive harm, given the relatively small share of licensing costs in the overall vehicle price and the broad applicability of the standards across multiple sectors beyond automotive.
This guidance supports the European Union’s goal to boost the competitiveness of its automotive industry, aligning with the Industrial Action Plan for the European Automotive Sector and the broader Clean Industrial Deal to advance digital innovation and contribute to the EU’s decarbonisation and net-zero emissions targets by 2050.
The guidance letter follows a similar letter issued simultaneously to APM Terminals on a joint purchasing agreement, marking the first time the Commission has provided such informal advice under its 2022 Notice on Informal Guidance.
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, said:
“Companies that pursue the EU’s strategic goals should not be held back by uncertainty about the application of our competition rules. Innovation and competitiveness often depend on access to standardised technology, in particular to allow products to interoperate or speak to one another. By issuing this guidance letter, we are providing clarity on the application of competition law to arrangements under which manufacturers group together to jointly negotiate licences of standardised technology relevant to the Internet of Things or electronic communications, such as 4G. These arrangements can reduce transaction costs and help to increase the competitiveness of the EU’s automotive sector.”
The Commission will publish a non-confidential version of the guidance letter on its competition website once confidentiality concerns are resolved. The companies involved remain responsible for assessing their own compliance with competition law.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_1768
