At the end of May, several European Union member states formally requested the European Commission to reverse its decision to remove the Standard Essential Patent (SEP) Regulation from its 2025 agenda.
SEPs are applications that protect specific technologies essential to implementing a technical standard. They are generally used in industrial sectors such as automotive, telecommunications, healthcare and energy. The most common example is 5G mobile networks, wherein it exists certain communication technologies that all devices must use to be compatible with the network. Those technologies are the basis for essential patents.
In 2023, the European Commission proposed a Standard Essential Patent Regulation, which sought to establish a system for licensing SEP patents under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms for both the patent holder and the licensees. This new Regulation would be incorporated into the Unitary Patent system.
This plan received criticisms from large and well-known companies in the automotive and telecommunications sectors; furthermore, there was division among different members within the European Council. In 2024, the European Commission announced its intention to withdraw this proposal of Regulation. However, as mentioned at the beginning, a movement has recently emerged to prevent the proposal’s withdrawal.
Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, France and Italy are now seeking the EU Commission to continue with this proposed Regulation, since those SEP are involved in critical sectors and it is essential to have clear guidelines on how to handle licensing disputes. Furthermore, having an agreed regulation on SEPs would provide reliability and effectiveness.
For more information on standard essential patents, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Carlos Baños
Patent Department
