Price discrimination in patent licensing and the application of FRAND

With the increasing amount of global trade and the accelerating process of economic globalization, the economic entities of the world have reached a consensus on protecting equal trading opportunities-especially through pricing and other trading conditions- to achieve substantially fair global trade transactions. The arrival of the era of the knowledge economy increases the role of intellectual property in manufacture and trade and increases attention to the patent licence systems in many countries. In patent licence practice, licensors grant patent licences with many conditions attached. On the one hand, differential treatment will stimulate competition in the market and bring generous profits to the licensors; on the other hand, excessive differential treatment can seriously affect fair competition in the relevant market and undermine the normal operation of the market economy. Therefore, this article explores the issue of price differential treatment in the practice of patent licensing and reasonable royalty fees or rates under FRAND, in order to provide inspiration for further improvement and development of China's patent licensing market.