Internet protocol standards for IoT interoperability in the house. Open issues in EU competition law

Abstract

IoT for the house raises several concerns under the EU Competition and IP law. In order to create a better level of interoperability between the different smart home IoT objects, undertakings are willing to create new standards, in particular concerning the Internet Protocol. However, this problem seems to be over. In December 2019, Google, Amazon, Apple, Ikea, the ZigBee alliance and many other undertakings belonging to the electronics and innovation world joined together to form the project “connected home over IP” whose main goal is to create “…a new, royalty free, connectivity standard”. This paper aims at giving a first analysis of this project under a competition law and IP law perspective. The main focus will be both on the interplay between Art.101(1),(3) TFEU and on Standard Essential Patents (SEPS) applied to this project. It will be argued that if this project is considered a collusive agreement, it could become a new case in the SEP litigation framework.