Drafting and Prosecuting Potential Standard Essential Patents in the UK and Europe

With the increasing connectedness of all areas of technology, from autonomous vehicles to “smart” climate control devices, standards to ensure interoperability and interconnectivity are becoming part of the technological landscape in more and more fields. The potential reward for innovative companies whose patented technology is included in a standard is a reliable and growing source of licence revenue from all users. Therefore it is little wonder that SEPs and FRAND licensing are attracting a lot attention in the IP world and have led to some very high-profile disputes. Whilst the vast majority of SEPs are never litigated, the outcomes of these disputes illustrate that strategic decisions taken early in the life of these patent applications can impact on the revenue obtainable.

This webinar will look at how the decisions of the UK courts on SEPs and FRAND licensing can guide drafting, filing and prosecution strategies of applications that may become SEPs. In particular we will look at strategies to maximise the patent coverage and licence revenue for inventions that may form part of a future standard and how these strategies interact with the requirements of European drafting, filing and prosecution practice such as double patenting and validation choices.