Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS, (Reuters) – The European Union filed a lawsuit against China Friday at the World Trade Organization. It claimed that Chinese courts are preventing European telecom companies from protecting their patents. On behalf of 27 EU members, the European Commission filed the challenge. It claimed that EU companies had been discouraged from seeking out foreign courts to defend their standard-essential Patents (SEPs). Additionally, the Commission has consulted Japan (whose standard-essential Patent Holders face similar challenges) and other countries that want to establish global tech standards rather than relying on Beijing. For their phones to comply with international standards,…