EU Drops Proposed Regulation on Standard Essential Patents

As we previously reported, the European Commission proposed a new framework concerning Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) and their licencing in April 2023.

After more than two and a half years of discussion, the EU Commission unexpectedly announced in its 2025 work programme that the proposal has been withdrawn, stating the following: “No foreseeable agreement — the Commission will assess whether another proposal should be tabled or another type of approach should be chosen”.

It is not presently clear what led to the Commission’s surprise U-turn. It appears that there will not be an EU SEP regulation in the near future.