Solutions to patent hold-up beyond FRAND: An SOS to SSOs

Philadelphia partner Paul Saint-Antoine and associate Garrett Trego wrote an article titled, “Solutions to patent hold-up beyond FRAND: An SOS to SSOs,” in The Antitrust Bulletin.

The article notes that while standard setting has well-recognized benefits to industry and consumers alike, the process is also subject to possible abuse by owners of standard essential patents (SEPs), who may through patent hold-up frustrate the efficient implementation of the standard.

The article discusses a number of nonmonetary solutions, including limits on injunctive relief, increased disclosure of prior licensing rates, and mandatory ADR, that SSOs may adopt to streamline the licensing of FRAND-encumbered patents and thus reduce hold-up.