Essential patent

An essential patent or standard-essential patent (SEP) is a patent that claims an invention that must be used to comply with a technical standard. ^[1] Standard-setting organizations (SSOs) normally require their members to agree to license their essential patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. ^[2] Determining which patents are essential to a particular standard can be complex. ^[3]

See also

• Patent ambush, a situation in which patents are withheld during development of a proposed standard
• Patent infringement, the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention
• Patent thicket, a negatively connoted term for an overlapping set of patent rights
• Orange-Book-Standard , a German decision on the interaction between patent law and technical standards
• Standardization, the process of creating technical standards

References

1. Shapiro, Carl (January 2000). "Navigating the Patent Thicket: Cross Licenses, Patent Pools, and Standard Setting" . Innovation Policy and the Economy. 1: 119–150. doi:10.1086/ipe.1.25056143. ISSN   1531-3468. S2CID   17290328.
2. Sidak, J. G. (1 December 2013). "The Meaning of FRAND, Part I: Royalties". Journal of Competition Law and Economics. 9 (4): 931–1055. doi: 10.1093/joclec/nht040 .
3. Elizabeth Woyke (2011-09-21). "Identifying The Tech Leaders In LTE Wireless Patents". Forbes. Retrieved March 10, 2012.

Further reading and viewing

• "Potential Antitrust Liability Based on a Patent Owner's Manipulation of Industry Standard Setting", Proceedings of ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting (2003) by Janice M. Mueller.
• "Patent Misuse Through the Capture of Industry Standards", 17 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 623 (2002) by Janice M. Mueller.
• Mossoff, Adam; Contreras, Jorge; Kulbaski, James J. (November 30, 2012). Standards-Essential Patents: Where Do IP Protections End and Antitrust Concerns Begin? (video). Washington Legal Foundation. Archived from the original (ASX) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
• Vidal, Kathi (10 April 2022). "Standard essential patent policy and practices: We want to hear from you!". www.uspto.gov. Retrieved 30 September 2023.