The Commerce and Industry Ministry has floated a discussion paper on standard essential patents and their availability on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.
The objective of the paper is to invite views and suggestions from the public at large to develop a suitable policy framework to define the obligations of essential patent holders and their licensees.
An essential patent or standard essential patent (SEP) is a patent that claims an invention that must be used to comply with a standard.
The discussion paper, floated by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), said that Indian jurisprudence on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing practices for SEPs is at a relatively nascent stage.
"With an increasing pervasiveness of standardised technology in virtually all sectors, and particularly telecommunications, in India and worldwide, issues associated with SEPs are increasingly agitated.
"This discussion paper deliberates upon such issues, particularly in telecom sector and seeks views and comments of all the stakeholders on all such issues," the 28-page paper said.
This paper, it said, aims to sensitise the stakeholders, concerned organisation and citizens towards need and importance of regulating SEPs as well as facilitating their availability at FRAND terms.
The DIPP has invited views from the concerned stakeholders on issues like whether the existing provisions in the various IPR related legislations, especially the Patents Act, 1970 and Anti-Trust legislations, are adequate to address the issues related to SEPs and their availability on FRAND terms.
"If not, then can these issues be addressed through appropriate amendments to such IPR related legislations? If so, what changes should be affected," it said.
The other questions which the paper has listed for stakeholders' views include what should be the IPR policy of Indian standard setting organisations in developing standards for telecommunication sector and other sectors in India where SEPs are used.
