These days technology based patents are
all over the place. Firms are more concentrated on the permutations
and combinations of tapping infringements, filing lawsuits,
remuneration for damages etc. Amidst all this, there is a compelling
need to implement a system which could act as a one-stop hub for
licensing all technology related patents. This will potentially act
as a marketplace for all future related IP licensing needs. In short,
the concept of Patent pool shall be utilized for pooling technology
based patents and thereby giving substantial opportunities to the
member parties who are potentially willing to license-out or cross-license their patented technologies , alongwith the ones who are
willing to be potential licensees of such technologies. Such Patent
pools not only enhance technology based collaborations but also
reduce the risk of litigation for other organizations offering or
manufacturing products and services related to such patents.
In the past, we have seen many such
Patent pooling consortiums. For example, Open Innovation Network® founded in 2005, founding members being IBM, NEC,
Novell, Philips, Red Hat and Sony. Open Invention
Network® operations include acquiring patents and making them
available royalty-free to companies, institutions or individuals who
agree not to assert their patents against the Linux System. Thus
promoting technology based collaboration. Potential licensees of Open
Innovation Network® agrees not to assert their patent rights on
Linux based Systems on becoming OIN licensees. On the other hand, licensees
can fruitfully benefit from the royalty free access to the valuable
Linux based Patent portfolio.
Other such
technology based patent pools include OpenPatent Alliance founded in 2008 by Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco Systems,
Clearwire, Intel, Sprint and Samsung for patents related to WiMAX standard
( Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). Another such
consortium being the Medicines Patent Pool which aims to improve
access to affordable and appropriate HIV medicines in middle or low
income countries. More information on Medicine Patent Pool can be
accessed from our earlier blog post here.
The
recent addition to the patent pool consortium is Via Licensing's LTE
( Long Term Evolution ) Patent pool
( announced on October 3, 2012 )
for
the wireless industry which aims at accelerating innovation by
providing efficient, transparent and cost-effective access to LTE
standard essential patents. The members offering their patents
through this LTE Patent pool are AT&T, Clearwire Corporation,
DTVG Licensing, HP, KDDI Corporation, NTT DOCOMO, SK Telecom, Telecom
Italia, Telefónica, and ZTE Corporation.
Analyzing
all this, we can hope additions of more such Patent pools in the near
future enhancing
technology based collaborations and building a stronger ecosystem for
licensing present and upcoming technologies.
( Image courtesy link)
