The Intellectual Property Office (“IPO”) has launched a new Resource Hub for Standard Essential Patents.

Standard Essential Patents (“SEPs) are patents that protect technology that is deemed essential to implementing a technical standard (i.e. an agreed or established technical description, usually produced by a standard development organisation).  As the IPO puts it, “technical standards are agreed ways that specify how technologies interact with each other and enable devices to seamlessly communicate with each other. We increasingly encounter them in everyday life – for example, in smart phones and telecommunications networks, cars, home appliances, UAVs (drones), smart meters and medical devices”.

Once a technical standard has been agreed, manufacturers are required to make their products compliant with that standard, and, in some cases, standards require the use of specific technologies protected by patents: SEPs.

We have previously commented here on the work of the IPO in this area, including a Call for Views and a questionnaire to understand how the current SEP framework encourages innovation and promotes competition. Earlier this year, the IPO published its findings which included, among other things, that the so-called ‘SEP ecosystem’ is “incredibly complex”, lacks transparency, and contains “significant information gaps between SEP holders and SEP implementers”. There is also a lack of understanding about how to use dispute resolution services. Given the fact that SEPs are, as the IPO states, “of growing importance to the UK economy, as they enable the development and implementation of innovative technologies across key sectors by ensuring that technologies are accessible and interoperable”, the IPO sought to take action to address these challenges through a series of non-regulatory interventions.

The Resource Hub, developed by the IPO in collaboration with industry, is one such intervention. The stated intention of its introduction is to be a ‘one stop shop’ to “help businesses improve their understanding of the SEPs ecosystem. It provides guidance and highlights other resources to help them navigate this ecosystem more confidently”.

The Hub includes detailed guidance on three specific subjects (1) Technical Standards and Standard Development Organisations; (2) SEP Licensing; and (3) dispute resolution and remedies in SEP Licencing. A fourth section is dedicated to additional resources such as a UK SEPs case law tracker, glossary of terms, and international SEP resources.

Commenting on the launch of the Resource Hub, Adam Williams, CEP of the IPO, said “Standard Essential Patents are of growing importance to the UK economy. They are at the core of the technologies of tomorrow, and the pioneering industries of today. The new UK SEPs Resource Hub aims to help our innovative, IP rich businesses – both large and small – navigate this often-complex environment. This will help ensure our IP framework serves as an enabler for their ideas and discoveries to flourish, supporting the government’s mission to grow our economy…I hope that this evolving resource helps businesses operating in the UK who interact with the SEPs ecosystem more confidently engage in standardisation and overcome the complexities more easily”.

To visit the Resource Hub, click here.