DOJ, PTO, NIST Withdraw 2019 SEP Policy Statement

Withdrawal of a 2019 policy statement on remedies for standard-essential patents subject to fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) commitment terms is the “best course of action for promoting both competition and innovation in the standards ecosystem,” DOJ said Wednesday in a joint statement with the Patent and Trademark Office and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Agencies made the determination after requesting public comment, following a July executive order for promoting competition. DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Jonathan Kanter said in a statement: “I am hopeful our case-by-case approach will encourage good-faith efforts to reach F/RAND licenses and create consistency for antitrust enforcement policy so that competition may flourish in this important sector of the U.S. economy.”