Study on Transparency, Predictability and Efficiency of SSO-based Standardization and SEP Licensing

In December 2016, the European Commission published a study assessing issues and solutions related to standard essential patents (SEPs) and the standardisation process.

The analysis builds on a previous report on patents and standards (PDF, 580kB) prepared for the Commission and on the responses to a public consultation on patents and standards in 2015. The analysis also covers standardisation challenges in the Internet of Things industries.

The report presents the costs and benefits of practical solutions to facilitate an efficient standardisation process and SEP licensing. Concrete recommendations are offered on different issues such as FRAND terms, over-declaration, essentiality checks, conflict resolution process and increasing transparency.

This study is part of the Commission's work to build an intellectual property rights framework enabling easy and fair access to SEPs, as described in the 2016 Communication, ICT Standardisation Priorities for the Digital Single Market.

Its results will be used to assess the interplay between standardisation and patents in the EU Single Market.