Patents, Antitrust, and Rivalry in Standard Setting

Jonathan L. Rubin, Partner, Patton Boggs, LLP, Washington, D.C.

4/23/2008
(Original Publish Date: 6/21/2006)

Voluntary consensus standard-setting is important for commercializing products that employ new technologies because technical compatibility standards are needed before new products, particularly in communications and information technology, may be brought to market. This holds for several reasons. First, digital technology products rely heavily on networking, interoperability, and compatibility. Voluntary consensus standard-setting provides an efficient solution for achieving the level of technical agreement required for such compatibility. Also, digital networks are polymorphic, so the need for digital interfaces (and the compatibility standards that make them work) increases as network functionality, the installed base of digital devices, and the volume of stored data enlarges. Another reason for increased commercial reliance on voluntary consensus standard-setting is that new entrants into technology markets routinely confront a “patent thicket.”