ICT Essential Patent: Wiki for IPR and Licensing of ICT Standardized Technology Part II.

5. What are the IPR policies of standardized technologies in ICT?

The IPR policies is a set of rules that a specific SDO (Standard Development Organizations) set up for handling of IPR matters related with technical standards. IPRs policies of SDOs follow different practices. Most common policy may be that the participants in the standards-setting process are required to reveal information about patents that may be owned by the company and are likely to be essential for complying with the proposed standard.

A. ITU IPR policy
Ref. http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/ipr/; http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/dbase/patent/patent-policy.html

B. ISO IPR policy
Ref. http://www.chiariglione.org/leonardo/standards/opima/iso_iec_ipr_policy.htm

C. ETSI IPR policy
http://www.etsi.org/WebSite/AboutETSI/IPRsInETSI/IPRsinETSI.aspx

D. IEEE IPR policy
http://standards.ieee.org/guides/bylaws/sect6-7.html#6

6. What are issues with IPR policies of standardized technologies in ICT?

A. Patent Ambush
A patent ambush occurs when a member of a SDO hides information, during participation in development and setting a standard, about a patent that the member's company owns, which is relevant to the standard, and subsequently the company asserts that a patent is infringed by use of the standard as adopted.
Ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_ambush

B. Patent Troll
A patent troll is a person or company that enforces its patents against one or more alleged infringers with no intention to participate in SDO and/or manufacture or market the standardized technologies.
Ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_troll

C. Antitrust Violations
Antitrust laws are invoked when patent owners abuse their rights, to constrain the misconduct.
Ref. http://www.goodwinprocter.com/~/media/7589A8D652264FD3A1F2A05A683DD1B2.ashx

7. What is the FRAND?

A patent covering the standard must be adopted on "fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms" (FRAND). FRAND refers to the obligation in licensing that is required by SDOs for members which participate in the standard setting process. FRAND is intended to prevent members from engaging in licensing abuse based on the monopolistic advantage generated as a result of having their IPR.
Ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair,_Reasonable_and_Non_Discriminatory_terms

8. What is the patent pool and some patent pool examples for the standardized ICT?

A patent pool is a consortium of at least two companies agreeing to license patents relating to the standardized technologies.
Ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_pool

A. 3G Licensning
3G Licensning is a patent pool for W-CDMA patent licensing programme.
Ref. http://www.3glicensing.com/

B. MPEC LA
MPEC LA is a patent pool for licensing of essential patents to MPEG-2 Video, MPEG-2 Systems, MPEG-4 Visual and MPEG-4 Systems.
Ref. http://www.mpegla.com/index1.cfm

C. OPA
Open Patent Alliance is a patent pool for 4G WiMax technology licensing.
Ref. http://openpatentalliance.com/

D. RFID Consortium
RFID Consortium is a patent pool for UHF RFID licensing.
Ref. http://www.rfidlicensing.com/index-2.html


©2009 TechIPm, LLC All Rights Reserved
http://www.techipm.com/