UK IPO Embraces Half Measures in Voluntary Guidelines

Innovative SMEs need binding reforms of Standard-Essential Patent (SEP) Licensing Practices to Protect Innovation

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – Today’s ministerial statement from Minister for Science, Innovation, and Investment Chris McDonald, MP and release of the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office’s (IPO) consultation report on standard-essential patent (SEP) licensing practices offers a partial response to innovative SMEs’ concerns and the overwhelming evidence of abuse.

‘The minister’s statement and IPO’s proposed targeted measures signal a mixed result at best for British SMEs’, said Stephen Tulip, UK Country Manager for the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT). ‘SMEs thrive on certainty and clarity. These changes will further strengthen the chokehold of a select few large, international SEP holders, by kicking the can down the road instead of supporting innovative British tech SMEs’ ability to deliver growth in every postcode. SMEs need support, not more promises with no guarantee of action’.

‘A bright spot for innovative SMEs is in the inclusion of ACT’s recommendation for the IPO to develop and publish an aggregate royalty benchmark via a FRAND opinion service. ACT in our comments to the IPO has provided details on the benefits to rate transparency, litigation cost reduction, and protecting SMEs from predatory licensing practices, and specifics on how the IPO can implement a process for benchmarking’.

‘Broadly these measures leave UK IoT startups in a difficult position where a sticking plaster is being used to cover over a major wound. It gives the impression of a problem being fixed, but the problem remains and will get worse unless the government rethinks its position’.

‘More resources won’t automatically fix the problem without addressing the fundamental imbalance of power and lack of information that place SMEs at a disadvantage’.

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About Association for Competitive Technology (ACT)

ACT is a global technology trade association representing startups, scaleups, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We work directly with our members worldwide to advocate for a policy environment that takes into account their real-world challenges and supports innovation, access to capital, job creation, and the ability of small technology companies to grow and compete globally.