Insight 40 - Magazine - Page 44
One-stop SEPs Resource
Hub launched by UK IPO
A
new Standard Essential Patents
(SEPs) resource hub for businesses
in the UK seeking guidance on
navigating this often-complex ecosystem
has been launched by the UK Intellectual
Property Office (UK IPO).
A patent that protects a technology
deemed essential to implementing a
technical standard is known as a Standard
Essential Patent. Technical standards are
agreed ways that specify how technologies
interact with each other and enable
devices to seamlessly communicate with
each other. We increasingly encounter
them in everyday life - for example, in
smart phones and telecommunications
networks, cars, home appliances, UAVs
(drones), smart meters and medical
devices.
It is widely accepted that SEPs are of
growing importance to the UK economy,
as they enable the development
and implementation of innovative
technologies across key sectors by
ensuring that technologies are accessible
and interoperable.
However, it is known that businesses large
and small can face particular challenges in
relation to the licensing of SEPs.
These challenges may include knowledge
and information gaps between SEP
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holders and SEP implementers, concerns
around a lack of transparency, and around
the effective use of dispute resolution
services.
The Hub aims to help businesses
improve their understanding of the SEPs
ecosystem. It provides guidance and
highlights other resources to help them
navigate this ecosystem more confidently.
The Hub is divided into 4 parts:
• guidance on Technical Standards and
Standard Development Organisations
• guidance on Standard Essential Patent
Licensing
• guidance on Dispute resolution and
remedies in SEP Licensing
• additional resources including a UK SEPs
case law tracker, glossary of terms and
international SEPs-specific resources
which may be useful to UK businesses
trying to navigate the SEPs ecosystem
Amongst others, organisations that
contributed to development of the Hub
include Benn Consulting, Cyclopic,
Qualcomm and Nokia. The group
included a broad range of industry trade
representatives, SEP implementers, SEP
holders, start-up and scale-up businesses,
research institutions and academia.
The Hub is the first resource of this kind in
bIZ4BIZ INSIGHT MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2024
the world and is intended to be a ‘onestop-shop’ for any business in the UK
seeking guidance related to SEPs.
Feryal Clark MP, Minister for Intellectual
Property, said: “This will help UK
businesses to navigate the complex
Standard Essential Patent ecosystem
and bolster business confidence as they
develop cutting-edge technologies across
the NHS, transport, telecommunications
and other key sectors.
“We are ushering in a new era of sustained
economic growth, which is why it is so vital
to support UK innovators by improving
the digital resources we offer, boosting
efficiency and productivity for businesses
across the country.”
IPO CEO Adam Williams said: “Standard
Essential Patents are of growing
importance to the UK economy. They
are at the core of the technologies of
tomorrow, and the pioneering industries
of today.
The new UK SEPs Resource Hub aims to
help our innovative, IP rich businesses
– both large and small – navigate this
often-complex environment. This will
help ensure our IP framework serves as
an enabler for their ideas and discoveries
to flourish, supporting the government’s
mission to grow our economy.