BROWSING: standard essential patents

Big Tech companies have profited greatly from dominant market positions while riding largely for free over the top of fixed and mobile telecom networks and devices. The entire Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) ecosystem is enabled by a variety of interoperability technologies including 5G...

The automotive industry is being revolutionized by continuous cloud connectivity, autonomous driving technologies, drive train electrification and shared mobility. These transformations are being facilitated in part by the standardized cellular technologies now commonly implemented in “connected vehicles” or “CVs”. The proportion of vehicles shipped...

The EU is in grave danger of “throwing out the baby with the bathwater” in its prospective attempts to reform SEP licensing with interventions for the purported benefit of European Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in IoT.  Europe was once preeminent in cellular communications with...

Public comments on SEPs and FRAND licensing sought for the US Department of Justice’s Draft Policy Statement and the UK Intellectual Property Office’s Call for Views.  It is vital that the fundamental sanction in patent law—of the temporary right to exclude—along with other remedies, including...

Aggregate royalty payments for licensing cellular technology standard-essential patents (SEPs) in smartphones have remained in modest single-digit percentages and have declined since 2013.  This defies purported concerns that the stacking of patent royalties paid to multiple licensors have led to or would lead to unreasonably...

New licensing agreement settles lawsuits between the two companies InterDigital and Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi have struck a global licensing deal which resolves legal disputes between the two companies over Xiaomi's use of InterDigital's patents covering various mobile technologies. The two companies were involved in lawsuits...

While litigation is bogging down the licensing of cellular standard essential patents (SEPs) in vehicles with disputes about where in the production supply chain licensing may or must occur—from chip, to module, to telematic control unit (TCU), to entire vehicle—this is also delaying payment...

In various industries including pharmaceuticals, where a product is typically protected by only a few patents, if intellectual property is licensed at all, licensing tends to be atomized: company-by company for individual patents or small portfolios, and nation-by-nation rather than globally in many cases. In...

Longstanding and economically efficient balance in Standard-Essential Patent licensing is being destabilized by misinformation and manipulation of commercial practices and of benchmarks in Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory licensing. This is epitomized in litigation between Apple and Qualcomm, commencing January 2017, until settlement in April...

While the 5G race rages on, so does the race to be perceived as the technology leader in 5G. This race transcends companies, industries, regions, and even countries. No major country, be it the new power such as China or existing leaders such as...

The statement “All patents are not created equal” seems like a cliché, but is absolutely true! The differences between patents are multi-dimensional and much more nuanced than what meets the eye. I slightly touched upon this in my previous article. There is denying that...

Let’s clear up some confusion. There is a battle being fought in the wireless industry over leadership with 5G patents. Some companies say the quality of patents is most important. Others say it’s the number of patents. The truth is, patent quality should not...