Standard essential patents

Please see attached for the Public Interest Patent Law Institute's full comments. A brief summary follows. PIPLI commends the European Commission for proposing regulations to bring more transparency, efficiency, and fairness to Standard Essential Patents (SEP) licensing, and save it from the uncertainty, friction, and resulting proliferation of jurisdiction-spanning litigation.

I will focus briefly on a number of issues for consideration regarding the current SEP proposal based on my insights from my academic scholarship, participation in the EC SEP Expert Group, and my work with the 5G Transparency Project. 1. Patience while the EC has been investigating SEP licensing for many years, the results do not conclusively suggest the need for regulatory intervention.

Nokia welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback concerning the proposal for new framework for standard-essential patents. Please find attached our comments. Nokia shares the European Commissions desire for more transparent, efficient, and predictable SEP licensing. However, the SEP initiative does not seem well calibrated to achieve these laudable goals.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Fraunhofer) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the European Commissions Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Standard Essential Patents and amending Regulation (EU)2017/1001. Please find Fraunhofer's comment attached.

InterDigital appreciates the opportunity to provide feedback on the European Commission's Initiative on a New Framework for Standard-Essential Patents: Proposal for a Regulation [COM(2023) 232 final of 27.4.2023]. InterDigital, an innovator in foundational technologies, is a key and active contributor to EU standardisation.

IP Europe appreciates the opportunity to comment on the European Commissions proposal to regulate the licensing of SEPs. While we support the European Commission industrial strategy and aims to strengthen European technology leadership and strategic autonomy and the stated aims of making SEP licensing more transparent and efficient and predictable, the Commissions initiative published on 27 April 2023 will, however…

GovStrat appreciates the opportunity to submits these comments to the European Commission with respect to the Proposed SEP Regulation. As a consultancy firm dedicated to help Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) to contribute to Standards Development Organisations(1) and help them to define their Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) strategy, this consultation is timely.

My name is [name removed]. My bio is available on [identifier removed] I am a Senior Fellow at iptimize (www.iptimize.eu), a strategic management consulting firm focussing on the efficient management of intangible assets and their return on investment for private and public institutions. Our clients are SMEs, public and semi-public research institutions as well as large corporations.

4iP Council is a not-for-profit research council comprised of a broad variety of supporters and ecosystem partners with research and development activities in Europe. Since our inception in 2013, we have been dedicated to developing high quality academic insights and robust empirical evidence on intellectual property (IP) and innovation.

The Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our lives, and it is important that this technology empowers rather than restricts us. Free Software (also known as Open Source) gives everybody the rights to use, understand, adapt, and share software.

On 27 April 2023, the Commission launched a public consultation on a proposal for a Regulation on Standard Essential Patents (‘SEPs’), amending Regulation (EU) 2017/1001. In order to contribute to the work on the adoption of this future regulation, the Federation of Vehicle Equipment Industries (FIEV) has drafted the attached written contribution.

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AFNOR has prepared a response to the European Commission's proposal for a Regulation on Standard Essential Patents, setting out its views on the proposed Regulation, raising important issues concerning the role of the European Standards Organisations and National Standards Bodies in the field of Standard Essential Patents, and proposing changes to the proposed Regulation to better reflect the nature of the ESOs' and…

The ZVEI represents the German electrical and digital industry. The membership of the ZVEI is very heterogeneous with regard to SEPs: In addition to companies that mainly act as SEP holders and companies that mainly implement SEPs in their products and solutions, many of our member companies are in a position to both hold and implement SEPs in their respective business lines.

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Panasonic Holdings Corporation / Intellectual Property Department welcomes the possibility provided by the European Commission to submit comments to the new framework for standard-essential patents ("COM(2023) 232 final" dated 27.04.2023) in the attached document.

CEN and CENELEC have prepared a response to the European Commission proposal for a Regulation on Standard Essential Patents outlining their opinion on the proposed regulation, raising important issues concerning the role of European Standardization Organizations in the area of Standard Essential Patents, and proposing changes to the proposed regulation to better reflect the nature of ESOs involvement in this area.

JAMA (The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Associatton,Inc.) is a non-profit automobile industry association representing 14 passenger car, truck, bus, and motorcycle manufacturers of Japan. We respectfully submits our comments and observations in respect of the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Standard Essential Patents and Amending Regulation (EU)2017/1001…

Ingenico - as a global leading provider of payment acceptance products and services - welcomes the European Commissions (EC) proposal for a Regulation setting a new framework for Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) within the European Union, which will establish a transparent, consistent, and efficient system for SEP licensing.

Ladies and gentlemen, please find attached the opinion of the Bundesverband Deutscher Patentanwalt e.V. on the proposal for a Regulation on standard essential patents and the amendment of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001, COM(2023) 232 final. Yours sincerely, Detlef by AHSEN

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Continental welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the new framework for standard-essential patents. Continental strongly supports the European Commissions efforts to provide an intellectual property framework that strike[s] a balance between promoting innovation by protecting IP on the one hand and not blocking companies access to IP and to the single market on the other.

CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers supports European Commissions proposal to regulate standard essential patents on new technologies. CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, welcomes the European Commissions proposal for a balanced and fair system of licensing for the use of standard essential patents (SEPs).

Canon welcomes this opportunity to share its thinking on the EU SEP Regulation proposal. In summary, Canon admires the European Commission for its ambition to develop an ecosystem to increase transparency and predictability in SEP licensing.

AQUA and FARECOGAZ POSITION PAPER on the EC Proposal for a Regulation on Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) EU2023/0133 SEP licensing: a major challenge for the gas, water and energy metering industry Executive summary Smart meters are key enablers of the EU clean energy and digitalization priorities.

On behalf of Mr Stephan Freischem, Secretary-General of the German Association for Industrial Property and Copyright (GRUR), I enclose the GRUR’s opinion on the European Commission’s proposal for a Regulation on standard-essential patents (COM (2023) 232). The opinion was also submitted today to the German Federal Ministry of Justice. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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IDEMIA very much welcomes this proposal of regulation which will harmonize conditions upon which standard essential patents (SEP) may be exploited within EU (and EEA) and provide enhanced transparency and legal security for all stakeholders using standards for business. Therefore, it will foster the single market.

Sisvel welcomes the opportunity to share its perspective on the proposal by the European Commission for a regulation on standard essential patents. We acknowledge that the Commission has concerns about lack of transparency and inefficiency in SEP licensing. Generally, we share them. That is why our mission to bring licensors and licensees together is underpinned by both.

NTT DOCOMO, the largest telecommunications company in Japan, has actively participated in standardization activities and has made a number of technical proposals. As a result of this activity, NTT DOCOMO owns a substantive SEP portfolio, has extensive knowledge of standardization and a lot of experience in SEP licensing.

Standard Essential Patents are crucial for the functioning of products essential for the digital and green transition. Especially for the digital transition it is important to use common standards. As products are getting more and more tech-enabled, the sale of these products is more and more linked to insecurity for manufacturers and sellers alike.

How to derive and apply aggregate royalty rates for SEP FRAND determinations. I have previously argued against the Commissions apparent intention to abandon the established approach of using comparable licensing agreements as benchmarks in determining FRAND royalty rates and instead use the top-down approach with patent counting to apportion royalties among SEP licensors.

This submission is being made on behalf of Fredrik Erixon and Oscar Guinea, Director and Senior Economist at the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE). The views expressed in this submission are personal and do not represent the official views of ECIPE (which does not have official views).

DEAR Ladies and Gentlemen, enclosed we submit our position paper on the draft Regulation on SEP-licensing. Regarding, Dr Ralf Scheibach, LL.M. Head of Department | Department Law and Compliance German Association of the Automotive Industry e.V. (VDA) Behrenstr.

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On 27 April 2023, the European Commission published its Proposal for a Regulation on Standard Essential Patents (SEP Regulation). The proclaimed aims of the SEP Regulation are to: ensure that end users, including small businesses and EU consumers, benefit from products based on the latest standardised technologies; make the EU attractive for standards innovation; and encourage both SEP holders and implementers to…

FEMIPI member associations stress the importance of this issue. The goal should be to strike a balance between Standard Essential Patent owners and implementers to further strengthen the value and role of Standard Essential Patents to the European economy and the development of solutions that may become Standard Essential.

On 27th April 2023, the European Commission published a proposal for a Regulation on Standard Essential Patents (hereinafter, SEPs Regulation) and allowed the public to provide feedback. The Centre for a Digital Society (CDS) of the European University Institute (EUI) is thankful for the opportunity to offer its comments and make suggestions on the proposed Regulation.

ESMIG, the European association of smart energy solution providers, would like to express its strong support for the Commissions ambition to reform the SEP licensing system to make it more transparent, effective, and predictable. Please find in the file attached ESMIG's position providing feedback on the new framework for standard-essential patents, published by the Commission on 27 April 2023.

We welcome the opportunity to comment on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on standard essential patents (SEPs) and amending Regulation (EU)2017/1001 . Our detailed assessment and comments can be found in the attached uploaded document.

EARTO calls on the EC to ensure that its new Regulation on Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) will: - not induce new insecurities for market players, - not lead to new hurdles (additional red tape and additional costs) for Intellectual Property (IP) owners to participate in SEP licensing, - consider aspects of global competitiveness and, - not come to the detriment of the European RD&I actors.

I, Keith Mallinson, am the founder and managing partner of WiseHarbor, an industry analyst research firm focusing on markets for products and services that rely on telecommunications technologies. For 15 years, WiseHarbor has also specialized in SEP and FRAND licensing issues.

Comments submitted on behalf of: ALDEN F. ABBOTT Senior Research Fellow and Director, Competition Policy Project, Mercatus Center at George Mason University CHRISTINE MCDANIEL Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University SATYA MARAR Visiting Postgraduate Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Axxès, an SME in the heavy goods transport sector, is a provider of the interoperable European electronic toll service in accordance with Directive 2019/520. As an intermediary between toll chargers (public authorities, their delegations and concessionaires) and road hauliers (users), Axxès is obliged to use the technologies specified by these toll chargers, such as satellite positioning and mobile communication.

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The European Committee for Interoperable Systems ("ECIS") is an international, non-profit association of information technology companies founded in 1989 which endeavours to promote a favourable environment for interoperable ICT solutions.

With this document, IP Europe is delighted to share its comments in response to the European Commission’s call for evidence in the context of the initiative for a new framework for standard essential patents (SEPs). The comments below are intended to complement our answers to DG Grow’s Questionnaire, which didn’t provide sufficient space to fully develop all of these arguments.

Ericsson wishes to thank the European Commission for the opportunity to provide input into this Call for Evidence for an Impact Assessment, and hereby respectfully submits its comments in reply thereto. As mentioned in the Call for Evidence ‘intangible assets are the cornerstones of today’s economy’, and ‘an effective intellectual property (‘IP’) framework needs to strike a balance between promoting innovation by…

Qualcomm appreciates the opportunity to provide information on the issues the European Commission has raised in this call for evidence. We agree with the Commission that “intangible assets are the cornerstones of today’s economy.” We also share the view that “[s]tandardisation is a key contributor to industrial innovation and competitiveness” and that “[s]uccessful standards rest on cutting-edge technologies, which…

Ladies and Gentlemen, Continental welcomes the opportunity to provide input for the Call for Evidence on Standard Essential Patents. Continental strongly supports the European Commission’s efforts to provide an intellectual property framework that “strike[s] a balance between promoting innovation by protecting IP on the one hand and not blocking companies’ access to IP and to the single market on the other” as the…

Dear Sir/Madame, Please find attached the feedback of the Fair Standards Alliance to the European Commission's Call for Evidence "Intellectual property – new framework for standard-essential patents". We remain at the disposal of the Commission for further engagement. Kind regards, [name removed]

We are concerned about the commission’s plan to update the legal framework that underpins standard-essential patent licensing in Europe. For obvious reasons, the way intellectual property disputes are resolved has tremendous ramifications for firms that operate in standard-reliant industries.

Dear Madam/Sir, Microsoft welcomes the opportunity to respond to the call for evidence on standard essential patents. Microsoft partners across the EU to help the smallest companies to the largest organizations digitally transform and exploit the opportunities presented by our digital tools that help them serve their customers for the era of intelligent cloud, intelligent edge.

Dear Madam, Please find enclosed our contribution in response to the European Commission’s public consultation on the new framework for standard-essential patents. Please accept, Sir, the honour of our greetings. [name removed] and [name removed], Associate Lawyers CORNET VINCENT SEGUREL www.cvs-avocats.com

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May 9, 2022 Dear Colleagues, The 5G Transparency Project (“5GTP”) is a non-profit LOT Network initiative to bring together market participants both within and beyond the LOT Network membership to create a superior, shared perspective on the 5G cellular SEP landscape.

I would like to thank the European Commission for the opportunity to respond to the call for evidence for an impact assessment on Intellectual Property – new framework for standard essential patents (SEPs). Standards provided under FRAND-terms may cause significant obstacles for organisations which seek to implement such standards in software (EC, 2012; Lundell et al., 2015, 2018, 2019, 2022).

Please accept the attached PDF document of the views of 25 legal academics, economists, and former United States governmental officials in response to the "Intellectual property— new framework for standard-essential patents: Call for evidence for an impact assessment," published 14 February 2022, by the European Commission.

Orange welcomes the opportunity to provide comments to the European Commission's Call for Evidence for an Impact Assessment in relation to a new framework for standard essential patents. The attached document provides comments that complement our input provided in response to the questionnaire of the public consultation, also on the topic of a new framework for standard essential patents.

Nokia is grateful for the opportunity to provide input to the European Commission in the context of its Call for Evidence for an Impact Assessment in relation to SEPs and licensing of SEPs on FRAND terms. Nokia agrees with the Commission’s goals for coherence and balance. We further agree that any policy initiatives must have a proper evidentiary basis.

CEN and CENELEC, two of the three European Standardization Organizations designated in Annex I of EU Regulation 1025/2012, would like to contribute the following clarifications relating to statements found in the European Commission’s introductory document (Ref. Ares(2022)1076263 - 14/02/2022) - please see uploaded document

EARTO (European Association of Research and Technology Organisations), founded in1999, represents more than 350 Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) in more than 20 countries. EARTO members represents 150.000 of highly-skilled researchers and engineers managing a wide range of technology infrastructures.

Innovators Network Foundation Please find attached the comments of the Innovators Network Foundation concerning EC call for evidence on a new Framework for Standard Essential Patents. The Innovators Network Foundation focuses on improving the environment for innovation and entrepreneurship around the world.

Enterprise Ireland (EI) is an Irish Government agency with responsibility to support Irish firms to grow and scale through innovation and exports. A large proportion of EI client companies are innovation led start-ups and SMEs across a wide range of technologies and sectors. Innovation and Intellectual Property are critical drivers of growth and success for these companies as would be typical of EU SMEs generally.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Attached please find the comments from Fédération Internationale des Conseils en Propriété Intellectuelle, the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys, broadly representative of the free IP profession throughout the world. FICPI's transparency register identification number: 34137929067-33 Sincerly, Juergen Schmidtchen Deputy Secretary General of FICPI

Standards are prevalent across a large number of technologies and provide important technological advances that support innovation to the benefit of consumers. There are a range of ways in which standards are developed and licensed. This includes standards that were developed by consortia, formal standards development organisations and single companies.

CLEPA applauds the EC’s 2017 Communication on Setting out the EU Approach to SEPs but is concerned that current SEP approach is not being followed to the full extent by SEP-holders or even by some European courts.

I have recently co-authored economic research on the optimal choice of the licensing level. Based on this research, I am of the view that the choice of the level can generally be left with the patent holder, on the condition that the industry participants along the whole value chain can access the patented technology.

That which is of Life That which currently exists Cannot be taken Modified then Patent application persued. WHY? Because that which is of Life Is diverse, In various forms, that known to human beings including the unknown to human beings Because one lacks the knowledge, it does not make it legal or correct to claim ownership of that which currrently exists.

The Florence School of Regulation: Area Communications & Media (FSR C&M) of the European University Institute (EUI) is thankful for the opportunity to provide its feedback. Our team of researchers has significant research, policy and training experience in the areas of telecommunications regulation, standardisation and EU competition policy.

Dear Colleagues, We are responding to the Commission’s Call for Evidence, “Intellectual property – new framework for standard-essential patents” (ref. Ares(2022)1076263 - 14/02/2022). The DVB Project, a standards development organisation, has fostered a number of licensing programmes of patents essential to DVB standards.

4iP Council, the leading European not-for-profit research council on intellectual property, appreciates the opportunity to provide empirical academic research papers on whether the standard essential patents licensing ecosystem is functioning efficiently and effectively and striking the right balance for all entities involved.

The Commission’s call for evidence myopically misses the bigger question of how to restore—in 5G and 6G—Europe’s former leadership for a decade around the millennium with 2G GSM in communications-based technologies, products and services.

Patents refer to innovation. That which has not been done before. Introducing something new. However, it is vital before the Grant of any Patent, vital consideration is given to the following areas, though not exclusively to them : 1. Impact on Health, the Environment, Protection of Species 2. Without Compliance inclusive of the Natural Law, failure is guaranteed 3.

Dear Madam or Sir, Attached is the statement from OpenForum Europe (OFE) aisbl. Should you wish to discuss our position and its implications, we would welcome the opportunity to meet with you or to answer questions by email. All the best, Astor Nummelin Carlberg Executive Director, OFE

>>Challenges: GISAD welcomes the EU strategy on standard essential patents to promote digital transformation. The problems are significant and not yet fully recognised by the EU Commission. While the public sector cur-rently has no way of examining patents that are structurally relevant to society, democracy-hostile compe-tition not only has the opportunity to identify the potential of democracy-preserving patents…

The whole idea of Standards Essential Patents is wrong, at a minimum in name, but more in the practice of making standards work. There is nothing ESSENTIAL to any standard about any patent. Standards should be open-source and free. That ensures that they will have the widest possible currency while also ensuring that no one company nor organisation has any sort of primacy in their definition and distribution.

The Joint Commercial Advisory Group often refers to the CWA 95000 standard (see attachment). This standard includes recommendations for standardization bodies. It seeks to (a) provide educational and contextual information regarding SEP licensing and the application of FRAND, (b) identify and illustrate some of the questions that negotiating parties may encounter, and (c) set forth some of the key behaviors and…

We need a more transparent and coherent SEP licensing system that allows not only citizens, if not the organisations developing these technologies, a minimum of security and guarantees. On the other hand, this type of licence allows people who work as self-employed people to have more equal access to tools to improve competitiveness.

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