Technological standards are the invisible engines of the modern digital economy – from the smartphone in your pocket to the car you drive.
The European Patent Office (EPO) has published a new study that, for the first time, analyses in detail the link between the technological standards and patents, using more than 5.5 million documents from standards development organizations (SDOs), resulting in a dataset linking 170,000 of these documents to European patents.
Key findings of the study:
- 37% of patents declared essential for the implementation of standards contain at least one cited document from the SDO organization.
- The United Patent Court (UPC) is increasingly becoming the preferred venue for resolving SEP disputes in Europe – since the establishment in June 2018, 23 SEP disputes have already been initiated.
- The new dataset in the PATSTAT database includes more than 190,000 European patent applications and 418,000 citations to SDO documents – the most frequently cited documents are those originating from Huawei, Ericsson, Qualcomm and Nokia.
EPO President Antonio Campinos said: “Technological standards are the backbone of our digital economy. They drive innovation and enable the connectivity of devices and platforms. In the future, similar efforts will be crucial for emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum technologies. The EPO will continue to provide expert support in strengthening European technological leadership.”
SEPs – technological foundations and economic potential
Standards, such as 5G, Wi-Fi and video/audio devices or codecs would not work without standards – essential patents (SEPs) that enable devices to communicate securely and efficiently. Wi-Fi standards alone are implemented in over 80,000 different products, and 4G and 5G technologies are used in more than 100 million vehicles worldwide.
According to IoT Analytics, the number of connected IoT devices is expected to grow by 30 billion by 2030, which would create a value of between 4.8 and 11 billion euros, McKinsey estimates.
Transparency and quality
The European Commission and the European Patent Office are committed to improving transparency in the field of patents and technological standards. A new study shows that in rapidly developing areas such as wireless communications and media compression, almost 70% of EPO search reports now contain citations from SDO documents, making a natural link between standards and patents.
A new approach to dispute resolution: the Unified Patent Court (UPC)
As of June 2023, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) has ruled on more than one-third of all SEP disputes in Europe, contributing to legal certainty and avoiding parallel proceedings. By the end of 2025, a Mediation and Arbitration Centre is expected to be opened, which will enable alternative resolution of SEP disputes on a global level.
See the electronic link to the study at the following link.
The European Patent Office (EPO) and the French Intellectual Property Office (INPI) organized the presentation of this study with the participation of judges, experts from various fields, as well as representatives of the public and private sectors.
Watch a video of this event on the official EPO YouTube channel.
