Interplay between Patents and Standards in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Sector and its Relevance to the Implementation of the WTO Agreements

While standard setting organizations (SSOs), industry bodies, as well as judicial and administrative authorities have made great efforts to solve the issue of patent holdup and holdout, there is still an ongoing struggle among divergent stakeholders. Patent holdup and holdout directly impacts the innovation and dissemination of patented technology, the harmonization and implementation of standards, and international trade, which are promoted by the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement). This working paper provides an overview of the current debate on patent holdup and holdout in the ICT sector, analyses existing policy measures and their limitations, and then highlights the relevance of the WTO to this debate.

No: ERSD-2017-08

Auteurs: Xiaoping Wu

Date de rédaction: avril 2017

Mots clés:

patent, patent holdup, patent holdout, standards, standard setting organizations, FRAND, competition, injunctions, royalties, WTO TRIPS, WTO TBT

Cotes JEL:

K11, K13, K15, K30, O34

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Avertissement 

Ce document est un document de travail et concerne donc des recherches en cours. Les opinions qui y sont exprimées sont celles de ses auteurs. Elles ne sont pas censées représenter la position ou les opinions de l’OMC ou de ses Membres et sont sans préjudice des droits et obligations des Membres dans le cadre de l'Organisation. Les auteurs sont seuls responsables en cas d’erreur.

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