The leadership of Apple, Google and Samsung will meet today not in the courtroom, but on neutral territory in Switzerland. The discussion was initiated by the International Telecommunication Union (UN specialized agency). This meeting will focus on the question of whether the key principle of patent licensing is preventing new products from entering the international market.
The talks stem from a high-profile patent dispute between Apple and Samsung and an EU investigation into several companies' abuse of basic patent principles.
RAND is “reasonable and fair”, the principle of patents at the heart of today's negotiations. According to the UN, during the negotiations it is planned to assess the extent to which these patents meet the definition of "RAND".
The BBC says the discussion could lead to changes in patent rules "so that products cannot be blocked based on standard-existing patent disputes." Apple and Microsoft are among the companies looking to change the rules.
The manufacturer of the Android mobile operating system, Google, is also calling for the upcoming reform.
