Brazil: Administrative Council for Economic Defence opened investigation into Ericsson over its alleged anti-competitive practices

On 23 April 2025, the Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE) initiated an investigation into Ericsson after evaluating a voluntary appeal filed by Motorola and Lenovo. The appeal alleged that Ericsson abused its dominant position in licensing patents essential to the 5G standard, claiming that Ericsson refused to license these patents independently within the national territory and instead required a global agreement under disputed terms. The parties later reached a global licensing agreement, leading to the withdrawal of the appeal, though CADE’s General Superintendence was recommended to open an administrative inquiry due to potential anti-competitive practices, including price discrimination and imposition of abusive commercial conditions. The CADE noted that the alleged conduct could constitute an infringement of the economic order, particularly given Ericsson’s dominant position in telecommunications infrastructure and the essential nature of the patents for 5G market access. The Council determined sufficient evidence warranted further investigation into possible refusal to supply, abusive exploitation of intellectual property rights, and obstruction of competitor operations.