Patent Landscaping Studies and Essentiality Checks: Rigorous (and Less Rigorous) Approaches

Abstract

Determining which patents are essential to a particular standard (standard essential patents or SEPs) had long been an issue preoccupying almost exclusively technical experts directly involved in essentiality assessments. Recently, however, the topic of essentiality assessment has attracted the attention of policymakers, courts, and the press. This is unsurprising considering the importance of standards for innovation, competition, consumer welfare, and commercial success and competitiveness. In particular, parties involved in essential patent licensing either are keenly interested in how many patents are essential to a specific standard and what is the share of essential intellectual property rights (IPR) owned by each patent owner.

Keywords: patent landscaping studies, essentiality checks, standard essential patents, SEPs, courts, policymakers, patent owner