The Licensing Executives Society International (LESI) is proud to present this landmark special edition of les Nouvelles, dedicated to Standard Essential Patents (SEPs). As a global organization advocating for the commercialization of intellectual assets and advancing the business of intellectual property (IP), LESI connects local expertise with global networks, bridging industries, fostering creativity, and driving innovation. Our mission is to serve as the leading platform for IP leaders and business professionals, providing a dynamic space to share knowledge and enable constructive discussions, including on SEPs—a critical and evolving area of intellectual property.

This special issue marks a significant milestone in our efforts to highlight the importance of SEPs and standards to the growth of companies and development of technologies that benefit people and countries globally. In these pages, we explore the diverse implications of SEPs through three core dimensions: business, legal, and policy. These perspectives are crucial to understanding the
dynamics, opportunities, and challenges surrounding SEPs in today's global innovation ecosystem.

Standardization has been a cornerstone of technological progress, enabling interoperability and driving massive growth in numerous technology sectors. This success has greatly benefited implementers, allowing them to build thriving businesses on standardized platforms that ensure compatibility and scalability.

For innovators, a key business rationale behind developing standards lies in achieving fair compensation for their contributions. The investment in research and development, coupled with the effort to innovate and contribute to standardization that will enable further technological development and interoperability, represents a significant commitment. Licensing SEPs provides a way for innovators to recoup their investments and sustain their role in driving that technological progress.

One of the main challenges in this domain is determining the value of SEPs. The unique nature of SEPs—their necessity for compliance with technical standards—adds complexity to valuation. Industry discussions touch on reasonable royalty and fair compensation for
innovation as well as the level of total royalties to be paid by the implementers of the standards. Negotiating licensing agreements often involves intricate discussions between parties with differing priorities and often differing levels of bargaining power.

The business-focused articles in this edition explore strategies for managing SEP portfolios, optimizing licensing agreements, and navigating the complexities of innovation and commercialization.

The legal dimension of SEPs most often revolves around the interpretation and enforcement of fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) commitments in addition to considering general litigation strategies and alternatives to litigation. FRAND principles address the terms under which SEPs are licensed, aiming to balance the interests of innovators and implementers.

Key elements of FRAND include determining fair and reasonable royalty rates and ensuring non-discriminatory licensing terms. Landmark court cases such as Huawei v. ZTE in Europe and Microsoft v. Motorola in the U.S. have shaped the legal landscape, providing guidance on the interpretation of FRAND and the resolution of SEP-related disputes.

The articles in this section provide in-depth analyses of these legal principles, exploring how courts and regulatory bodies worldwide are addressing the challenges of SEP licensing and enforcement.

And finally, policy discussions provide a sometimes uncertain backdrop to the SEP landscape. Policy issues surrounding SEPs have been under regulatory and court scrutiny for a long time, reflecting their complexity and importance. But establishing consistent and predictable rules and frameworks that govern the creation, licensing, and enforcement of IP is critical to allow IP to play a positive role to fuel innovation.

From the U.S. perspective, recent years have shown a strong emphasis on monetary remedies over injunc-tions in SEP cases as caselaw and policy statements from governmental entities have restricted the availability of injunctions for SEPs. In contrast, the European perspective has retained competition law aspects seeking to address concerns of both hold-up (where innovators demand excessive fees) and hold-out (where implementers delay or refuse licensing). These differing policy approaches highlight the challenges of resolving disputes and managing your investment in new technologies across various jurisdictions (as is required when marketing a product or service to a global market).

Potential regulation focused on SEPs has reached a new level in recent years with the Draft European SEP regulation proposal. This controversial initiative aimed to establish a new framework for SEP licensing and new roles for government, and continues to be widely
discussed in the industry, even as it was marked for possible withdrawal earlier this year.

In this special issue, the policy-focused articles examine the evolving regulatory landscape and propose pathways to achieve a balanced framework that supports both innovation and market accessibility.

Standard Essential Patents are at the heart of modern innovation—driving the development and adoption of connected and transformative technologies across industries. By discussing the business, legal, and policy dimensions of SEPs, this special edition of
les Nouvelles aims to provide insight into the opportunities and challenges in this dynamic field and equip the reader with information to inform licensing and IP management strategies.