SEP Essentials

For years the cellular and Wifi standards peacefully co-existed with different uses (voice vs data) and different technological strengths (see, Convergence and Competition – A Tale of Two Standards Part 1 (the Early Years: Peaceful Co-Existence) ( sepessentials.com ) ).  But over time, the technologies used in the standards, and the applications for which the standards are used, have converged (see, Convergence and Competition – A Tale of Two Standards Part 2 (Convergence of

One of the regulatory agencies which has run amuck over the last several years is the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).  The ITC was formed to protect U.S. domestic industries from unfair foreign competition.  But, at least in patent cases, it has strayed very far from that original mission.  Too often these days, the ITC lets foreign companies use the ITC against American companies in an end run around American courts.  American courts do not grant injunctions when

I keep musing on why a small set of American Senators, lead by Senator Chris Coons (Democrat from Delaware), is trying to make our country more like Germany.  I speak of course about the so-called RESTORE Act (see also my post The "RESTORE" Act which looks at the issues with the Act from a somewhat different perspective).  Foreign companies have been using the German legal system to extract unfair and unjust payments for FRAND committed SEPs from American (and other) compani

Several of my recent posts have focused on the third prong of standard and SEP analysis: the competition law aspects (see e.g. Back to Basics – An Overview of Competition Law, Standard Development and Standard Setting ).  The Chinese government also has been contemplating how SEP related issues should be addressed under the competition laws and has just released new Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for Standard Essential Patents ( Notice of the State Administration for Market Regulat

My posts reflect my personal experiences and conclusions, grounded in my observations and supporting evidence. I also recognize the value of diverse perspectives in understanding standards and SEP-related issues. To enrich the conversation, I have decided to host occasional guest posts that offer insights and reflections from individuals with unique expertise or interesting viewpoints.   My first guest post is from Earl Nied. Earl writes his own posts (see Earl Nied | LinkedI