Essential patent explained

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 connotated 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

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? . ASX . video . Washington Legal Foundation . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221809/http://iiscast.wlf.org/vod/sctr01_20121129093925/1/start.html?media=Media1a.asx . March 3, 2016 . December 17, 2012 . dead .
• Web site: Vidal . Kathi . Standard essential patent policy and practices: We want to hear from you! . www.uspto.gov . 30 September 2023 . 10 April 2022.

Notes and References

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