US: Lawyers brace for mobile payments patent wars

Industry experts expect the mobile payment industry to balloon in the coming years, especially with the introduction of Apple Pay, which has already lead to controversy. Now, reports say lawyers are bracing for a new wave of patent wars stemming from the mobile commerce industry’s anticipated growth.

Reports say lawyers across the US are looking at how the mobile payments industry will give rise to new legal disputes including software patent infringement.

And as new competitors emerge, reports say, lawyers also expect to see antitrust disputes within mobile payments, an industry that combines payments and telecommunications, both of which have a long history filled with antirust law suits.

Antitrust partner at Paul Hastings, Thomas Brown, describes the industry as the “Reese’s peanut butter cup of antitrust.”

”You have two things that taste great separately – telecommunications and payments, and you put them together,” a combination that will likely lead to new antitrust litigation through disputes over collusion and exclusion.

Apple is just one company that could face antitrust challenges with its mobile payments system. The company launched Apple Pay last month, and retailers, including CVS, are refusing to take the technology as payment. The dispute has not yet lead to legal action.

Full content: The Recorder

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