PISCATAWAY, N.J., USA, 30 April 2007 –The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) has enhanced its patent policy by permitting the disclosure of licensing terms associated with patents that might be included in its standards. The policy changes are intended to make the IEEE standards-setting process more transparent and go into effect May 1 at 12:01 p.m. EDT. On April 30, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a business review letter on the new policy in response to a request from IEEE-SA. The letter states that the policy has pro-competitive benefits and that the Justice Department has no intention of challenging the policy. IEEE-SA had sought the letter to address any concerns that exist on the new policy, even though the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission have made clear in the past two years that policies like the IEEE-SA's new policy are permissible.
In addition to permitting disclosure of licensing terms, the IEEE-SA clarified other aspects of its patent policy. The clarifications and other changes to the policy include several key elements. The policy: Encourages the optional disclosure of royalty rates and other license terms of a potentially essential patented technology early in the development of a draft standard. The patent holder may provide a not-to-exceed license fee or rate commitment, a sample license agreement, or one or more material licensing terms.
Makes a patent-holder’s assurance irrevocable once accepted by the IEEE and requires the patent-holder to give notice of the existence of the assurance when transferring ownership of the patent rights.
Binds the patent-holder's affiliates to the terms of the given assurance, unless the patent holder explicitly identifies affiliates it does not wish to bind.
Requires individuals participating in developing a standard to disclose the name of the holder of patents that are potentially essential to the standard, based upon personal knowledge. This applies to patents held by the individual or their employer.
“IEEE standards policies and procedures must change as the world changes to ensure our standards serve those who create and use them,” says Judy Gorman, IEEE-SA Managing Director. “Our new patent policy is a good example of this. We spent several years creating this policy and had strong participation from industry in doing so. "Our new policy encourages voluntary disclosure of maximum royalty rates and other licensing terms and allows IEEE standards working groups to include these in their comparison of relative costs for the technology alternatives they consider for a standard. As a result, our working groups will make choices based on more informed cost-performance evaluations. This should encourage competition and benefit anyone who seeks to comply with IEEE standards.”
About the IEEE Standards Association
The IEEE Standards Association, a globally recognized standards-setting body, develops consensus standards through an open process that brings diverse parts of industry together. These standards set specifications and procedures based on current scientific and technological consensus. The IEEE-SA has a portfolio of over 900 active standards and more than 400 standards under development. For information on IEEE-SA see: http://standards.ieee.org/.
About the IEEE
The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.) is the world’s largest technical professional society. Through its more than 370,000 members in 160 countries, the organization is a leading authority on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Dedicated to the advancement of technology, the IEEE publishes 30 percent of the world’s literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields, and has developed over 900 active industry standards. The organization also sponsors or co-sponsors over 450 international technical conferences each year. Additional information about the IEEE can be found at http://www.ieee.org.
