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US: Regulators called to issue patent guidelines

By  |  May 31, 2013

The American Antitrust Institute has called upon antitrust regulators to create enforcement guidelines for so-called standards-setting organizations, or SSOs, concerning patent policies in response to increasing concerns over the effects of patent standards on competition. SSOs, which set standards for popular technology patents, are particularly concerning when it comes to patent holdups, as the organizations can set industry-wide patent standards that can lead to patent holders not issuing their patents to rivals on a fair basis. Now, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice have been asked to set guidelines for the SSOs to limit what the Institute describes as practices that could possibly hamper competition. According to reports, the AAI is looking to assure that regulations prevent SSOs from antitrust liability should these anticompetitive practices occur.

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    For more information on how SSOs can solve the SEP problem, see this article from our March Antitrust Chronicle: Standard Setting Organizations Can Help Solve the Standard Essential Patents Licensing Problem

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