STANDARD ESSENTIAL PATENTS AND THEIR COMPETITION LAW REGULATION - DISCOVERING THE LAW, IN THE REALM OF INVENTIONS –

ABSTRACT Patent protection is the fruit of invention. Its commercial monetization drives the research and development machinery of various industrial establishments. Notwithstanding the monetary gain, an ‘invention’, serves a great social purpose by adding to the existing pool of technical knowledge. In a highly technical industry, such as the telecommunications industry, the commercial viability of various technical products depends on their inter-operability across various platforms. In order to enable such inter-operability, common standards are developed through the process of ‘Standardisation’. Such technological standards are termed as ‘Standard Essential Patent’ (SEP) when they are given patent protection, for which there are no non-infringing alternatives. The terms of licensing of such patents are sought on principles which are Fair, Reasonable and NonDiscriminatory (FRAND Principles).