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Standard essential patent policy and practices: We want to hear from you!

Blog by Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO

Technical standards play a critical role in our daily lives. From the phones in our pockets to the computer networks that support our communications with colleagues and family, standardized technology has brought many benefits to society.

Technical standards are most effective when innovators commit their patented technologies to the standard, agreeing to license those patents on “fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory” (FRAND) terms. Those patents — standard essential patents (SEPs) — are necessary to practice a given technical standard. By agreeing to license patents on FRAND terms, the patentee is compensated by licensees for their contributions while facilitating the implementation of the standard more broadly in society and across the globe. Standards also enable small to medium-sized companies to more easily access the market, creating competition that helps drive down prices for Americans and increasing the availability of these cutting-edge technologies.

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