Disclosure Rules and Declared Essential Patents

63 Pages Posted: 4 Aug 2017 Last revised: 22 Jan 2023

See all articles by Rudi Bekkers

Rudi Bekkers

Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE)

Christian Catalini

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management; Diem Association and Diem Networks US; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Arianna Martinelli

Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa

Cesare Righi

Universitat Pompeu Fabra; Barcelona School of Economics; UPF Barcelona School of Management

Timothy Simcoe

Boston University - Questrom School of Business; NBER

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: July 2017

Abstract

Many standard setting organizations (SSOs) require participants to disclose patents that might be infringed by implementing a proposed standard, and commit to license their “essential” patents on terms that are at least fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND). Data from these SSO intellectual property disclosures have been used in academic studies to provide a window into the standard setting process, and in legal proceedings to assess the relative contribution of different parties to a standard. We develop a simple model of the disclosure process to illustrate the link between SSO rules and patent-holder incentives, and examine the model's core predictions using a novel dataset constructed from the disclosure archives of thirteen major SSOs. The central message of the paper is that subtle differences in the rules used by different SSOs can influence which patents are disclosed, the terms of licensing commitments, and ultimately long-run citation and litigation rates for the underlying patents.

Suggested Citation

Bekkers, Rudi and Catalini, Christian and Martinelli, Arianna and Righi, Cesare and Simcoe, Timothy S., Disclosure Rules and Declared Essential Patents (July 2017). NBER Working Paper No. w23627, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3011105

Rudi Bekkers (Contact Author)

Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE) ( email )

Den Dolech 3, PO Box 513, Room IPO 2.40
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HOME PAGE: http://home.ieis.tue.nl/rbekkers/

Christian Catalini

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management ( email )

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United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://mitsloan.mit.edu/faculty/directory/christian-catalini

Diem Association and Diem Networks US ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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Arianna Martinelli

Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa ( email )

Biblioteca Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
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Pisa, 56127
Italy

Cesare Righi

Universitat Pompeu Fabra ( email )

Carrer de Ramon Trias Fargas 25-27
Jaume I building, room 20.1E34
Barcelona, 08005
Spain

HOME PAGE: http://www.crighi.com

Barcelona School of Economics ( email )

HOME PAGE: http://www.crighi.com

UPF Barcelona School of Management ( email )

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Spain

Timothy S. Simcoe

Boston University - Questrom School of Business ( email )

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Boston, MA MA 02215
United States

NBER ( email )

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Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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