Samsung, meanwhile, isn't waiting for the EU to take unilateral action. The tech giant has made an agreement with the Commission that prevents it from demanding injunctions over standards-essential patents for the next five years, matching a proposal it made in October. Samsung now has to negotiate royalty rates with any would-be licensee for up to a year. If there's still no deal after that, an arbitrator or court makes the final call.

Neither the Samsung pact nor the Motorola decision will affect European lawsuits over regular patents, including those that arguably prompted the standards-related suits in the first place. They also won't help with any related claims in the US. However, the EU's steps should have firms thinking twice before they add more legal disputes to the ever-growing pile -- and that's good news for those of us who'd rather see companies duke it out in the marketplace instead of the courtroom.

[Image credit: European Parliament, Flickr]