Standard-Essential Patents

Josh Lerner and Jean Tirole

No 19664, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: A major policy issue in standard setting is that patents that are ex-ante not that important may, by being included into the standard, become standard-essential patents (SEPs). In an attempt to curb the monopoly power that they create, most standard-setting organizations require the owners of patents covered by the standard to make a loose commitment to grant licenses on reasonable terms. Such commitments unsurprisingly are conducive to intense litigation activity. This paper builds a framework for the analysis of SEPs, identi.es several types of inefficiencies attached to the lack of price commitment, shows how structured price commitments restore competition, and analyzes whether price commitments are likely to emerge in the marketplace.

JEL-codes: D43 L24 L41 O34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-com, nep-ino, nep-ipr and nep-pr~
Note: PR
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published as Josh Lerner & Jean Tirole, 2015. "Standard-Essential Patents," Journal of Political Economy, vol 123(3), pages 547-586.

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Working Paper: Standard-Essential Patents (2014)
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