What Tech SMEs Should Know About the European Commission’s Consultation on SEPs
Internet of things (IoT) innovators across the European Union (EU) have long advocated for the need for EU-wide legislation concerning standard-essential patents (SEPs)—the patents that enable the use of standard technologies like Wi-Fi, 4G, and 5G. Recently, the European Commission launched a public consultation to assess the existing issues around SEP licensing, clarify current rules, and examine possible solutions. Stakeholders, like IoT innovators, academics and experts, trade organisations, associations, and private citizens can comment until 9 May 2022 through a [...]
President Biden to Congress: Forget the Antitrust Bills, Get Privacy Done
In last night’s State of the Union (SOTU) speech, President Biden hit the bullseye on the tech issues voters really care about: taking on social media and privacy abuses. His silence on the “Big Tech” antitrust bills, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S. 2992) and the Open App Markets Act (S. 2710)—which would harm privacy, security, and small business competitiveness—was resounding and a welcome recognition that those bills are not the answer. The remarks come as Congress is [...]
Next StEPs: DoJ, USPTO, and NIST Draft Policy Update
Quick Reminder Late last year, the United States Department of Justice (DoJ), United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) jointly released a proposed policy statement that updates and improves guidance on standard-essential patents (SEPs). As long-time proponents of fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms in the SEP space, we’re excited to support these measures. You can learn more about the impact this draft rule could have on innovation, investment, and [...]
Event Recap: Transparency in FRAND methodologies for SEP evaluations
Part three of the webinar series: A new framework for standard-essential patents (SEPs) On 8 February 2022, ACT | The App Association held the third webinar in a series of public events covering standards and standard-essential patents (SEPs) and how they impact European innovation and competition. The event focused on the transparency in methodologies for calculating fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) rates for SEPs licenses. The full recording of the event is available here. Previous editions of our webinar series [...]
Member Spotlight: Blue Maestro
What happy chimps and sixteenth century art have in common Pentworth House in West Sussex, UK is a National Trust property that houses a significant collection of artworks, including the 1592 Molyneux Globe. However, this collection was at risk of being destroyed after several valuable pieces were growing mold in storage. In an attempt to save the collection, the National Trust approached Blue Maestro for help to salvage the art. Their solution is a device placed inside the art frames [...]
ExSEPtional FRANDs
At the beginning of December, building on the Biden Administration’s executive order on competition, the Department of Justice (DoJ), United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) jointly released a new proposed policy statement that updates and improves on policy around standard-essential patents (SEPs) and the remedies (things like injunctions by a court) available to holders of SEPs who agreed to license their essential technologies on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. [...]