Empowering Innovation: A Unified Call for Action on National Standards and Fair SEP Licensing Policies

To address the existing power imbalances and transparency issues within the standard-essential patent (SEP) licensing landscape, members of ACT | The App Association recently sent a letter to members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. This letter underscores the App Association’s support for the Administration’s National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology (NSSCET) and asks for urgent reform in SEP licensing policies that, unless course-corrected, will defeat the goals of the NSSCET.

SEP Licensing Abuse

Standards like Wi-Fi and 5G enable interoperability among products and are a fundamental piece of the innovation cycle. When these standards include patented technologies, it gives SEP holders immense power over those seeking to use standards. App Association members work across CET sectors to build and use these standards. In creating the floor for innovation, CET standards are a foundation of U.S. competitiveness and national security.

Our letter calls for government action to prevent ongoing abuse within the SEP licensing system that threatens America’s role as a leader in setting global standards. By clarifying what fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing practices mean, the U.S. government can protect small businesses and maintain a healthy, competitive global market conducive to CET advancement.

A successful strategy to build U.S. leadership in CET standards should consider the entire standardization process, including the use of standards after they are developed. Because SEP licensing abuses lockout innovators, particularly small businesses, allowing these abuses to continue defeats the NSSCET’s mission to democratize technology advancement. We and our members urge policymakers to take decisive steps to address well-known anticompetitive practices and to safeguard the principles of fairness and innovation in the standards ecosystem by appropriately confronting SEP licensing abuses.