The CCIA and RIM Tell the FTC Banning Injunctions for FRAND Patents Can Make Smartphone Wars Worse~pj

If the government wants to build a highway and your house is in the way of the highway, what happens?

Does the government come and tell you, "You have to move out and abandon the house. Sorry for the loss of the value of your house, but that's life. The public interest comes ahead of your individual property rights."

Is that how it works?

Of course not. The government may be able, under certain circumstances, to tell you to move in order to build the highway, but it has to *pay* you reasonable compensation. You don't have to just gulp and swallow such a loss. Why? Because no one, not the government or anyone, has the right to rob you of your property rights. It's your house. You paid money for it, and if they take it away to benefit the larger good, you should at least be paid compensation.

What about taking away certain property rights from FRAND patent holders? Why is that any different than taking away a man's house? Patents, they tell us, are property, and patents come with certain property rights, such as the right to seek injunctive relief against willful infringers and the possibility of treble damages. If you take that away, without compensation, where is the fairness in that?