SEP Essentials

You can find my first post on the “Follow-up study on the application of the Directive on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights” (“ EC Study ”) here: "Inconsistency" - Europe Dithers Some More .  I wanted to take another look at the EC Study since there is so much to unpack in its 132 pages (not to mention the multiple attachments).  This post focuses on patent assertion entities (PAEs) and their relationship to other identified problems.  The EC Study defines PAEs

The European Commission just released its “Follow-up study on the application of the Directive on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights” (which you can find here: EC Study ) (“EC Study”).  The Directive 2004/48/EC on the enforcement of intellectual property rights (“IPRED”) “established a framework of measures, procedures, and remedies for the civil enforcement of IP rights”.    Among other reforms, it was intended to bring proportionality and balance to the conside

Since I have been so focused of late on Huawei’s conduct in the IEEE, I noticed two recent Huawei deals.  They have been treated as unrelated, but I wonder whether they are, in fact, part and parcel of Huawei’s SEP strategy.  Hence my title: pirates on the move.  1. Nokia acquires Wi-Fi 7 related patents from Huawei .  Buried in an announcement from Nokia that was posted on December 11, 2025 ( New Wi-Fi licensing deals in automotive | Nokia ) is this statement: “In additio

Today I sent a letter to the IEEE about the email sent by Andrew Woodward, a patent portfolio manager at Huawei Canada, to the 802.11 reflector on or around November 10, 2025 (“Huawei email”) which I have previously posted about (see The Huawei IEEE Scandal: Is Huawei a Buccaneer or a Privateer? and IEEE Sanctions - the Huawei Vote Stuffing Scandal Part 2 ) . I sent the letter to the Senior Counsel for the IEEE Standards Association who emailed the 802 LMSC reflector (which

2026 already has been a whirlwind of global activity, including in the world of standards and standard essential patents (SEPs).  The United States has announced its intent “to win the global race for 6G” and obtain “scientific and technological global dominance” ( Global Dominance – The U.S.A.’s Views on Standards and SEPs ). China has further cemented its status as the only country in the world with a well-formulated and consistent strategy and vision around standards and S

The current U.S. administration has recently turned some of its attention to patents and patent policy.  The first such policy changes were not specific to standard essential patents[1]. But, on December 19, 2025, the White House released a “ Fact Sheet ” in which it announced its intention to focus on 6G technologies and on standards themselves. The White House’s announcement evidences the administration’s view that standard setting is a competitive endeavor – one with both