Worldwide activities on licensing issues relation to standard essential patents

• Author: Doris Johnson Hines - Ming-Tao Yang
• Position: Partner, Finnegan, Washington, DC, USA
• Pages: 20-25

20 February 2019

Worldwide activities

on licensing issues

relating to standard

essential patents

By Doris Johnson Hi nes, Partner, and

Ming-Tao Yang, Partner, Finne gan, Washington,

DC, USA

Technical standards that ensure device interconnec-

tivity and interoperabi lity cover myriad products in the

information and computer technology (ICT) space, from

smart phones and t ablets, to memory devices and cabl es.

Standards are ubiquitous. Among other things, they allow

the world’s more than 8 billion mobile devices to com-

municate with each other and ens ure users can access

and operate the world’s more than 2 billion compu ters.

Standard setting org anizations, which promulgate tech-

nical standards, of ten require owners of patents covering

portions of a standa rd, called standard essential patents

(SEPs), to commit to license their patents on fair, reason-

able and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

This year presents fres h opportunities for implementer s of

standards-related technologies to potentially reduce the

Technical sta ndards ensure i nterconnectiv ity and interope rability of bil lions of mobile phones a nd

other electron ic devices that we u se every day. e organ izations that se t these standar ds often requir e

owners of patent s covering port ions of a standard (k nown as a stand ard essential pa tent (SEP))

to commit to li cense their patent s on fair, reasonable a nd non-discri minatory (FR AND) terms .

Photo: Peopleima ges / E+ / Getty Image s