Knut Blind
TU Berlin, Fraunhofer FOKUS, Rotterdam School of Management

Tim Pohlmann
IPlytics GmbH, TU Berlin and Cerna Mines ParisTech, IP Manager

An uprising issue that became very relevant in the last decades is the role of patents that are essential to a technology standard. Whereas patents are intended to allow its owner to exclude others from using the protected invention, the main objective of standards is to encourage the spread and wide implementation of the standardized technology. Patents that would necessarily be infringed by any implementation or adoption of a standard are called Standard Essential Patents (SEPs). However, the indispensable character of SEPs is worrisome for antitrust authorities, since it may leverage market power and lead to exclusive effects.