In the recent past, the Brazilian Antitrust Agency, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), has been involved in a couple of complaints filed by implementers concerning alleged antitrust practices by rightsholders of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs).

In the dispute between a TCL-affiliated company and Ericsson, CADE dismissed the complaint filed by TCL based on the understanding that the enforcement of standard patents was grounded in the Patent Statute. Thus, as per this ruling, the enforcement of SEPs would not change the fact that the dispute involved private rights, like any other patent infringement case.

In a more recent case, Lenovo v. Ericsson, the CADE commissioner responsible for reporting the case decided to proceed with investigations into possible antitrust practices, instead of simply dismissing the complaint, as occurred in the TCL v. Ericsson case. However, it is still premature to predict the outcome of this dispute.

In July 2025, the antirust agency published a report entitled “Cade’s Contribution: Standard Essential Patents,” which suggests that the antitrust authority is aware of the importance of the subject, particularly considering the growing interest in the Brazilian jurisdiction for the assertion of this kind of patent (especially the Rio de Janeiro Court System), the remedies afforded by procedural law (i.e. preliminary injunctive relief), and the large market for cutting-edge technologies.

In our view, CADE’s report tried to find a middle ground between the interests of implementers and patent holders, stressing the importance of building an environment of respect for others’ patents, while acknowledging the lack of specific statutory provisions governing SEP rights as well as the importance of negotiation under FRAND terms.

Please note that the report can be found at this link, and our team is available to discuss the contents of this publication or any other topic related to SEP in the Brazilian jurisdiction.