{
  "id": "RL31951",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL31951",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101633,
      "date": "2003-05-29",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-08T14:44:01.776544",
      "title": "Innovation, Intellectual Property, and Industry Standards",
      "summary": "An \"industry standard\" is a set of technical specifications that provides a common design for a\nproduct or process. Relating to products ranging from typewriter keyboards to high technology\ncomputer protocols, standards are pervasive in the modern economy. Standards sometimes arise\nthrough government action or through the operation of the marketplace. However, private industry\ngroups called standards bodies have long been active in promulgating standards.\n  Standards bodies and their members have encountered a growing number of claims that a\nprivately held \"intellectual property right\" -- such as a copyright or patent -- covers an industry\nstandard. Most of these assertions have involved patents. If the patent is valid and enforceable, it\nis possible that the standard cannot be employed without infringing that patent.\n  Striking a balance between open industry standards, on one hand, and exclusive intellectual\nproperty rights, on the other, is an important component of contemporary industrial policy. Industry\nstandards potentially bring economic benefits ranging from a broad range of interoperable products\nto more robust, competitive markets. In turn, intellectual property rights may promote innovation,\nthe disclosure of new inventions and technology transfer. Conflicts between industry standards and\nintellectual property rights require a careful weighing of these competing interests.\n  Aware of potential conflicts between industry standards and intellectual property rights, many\nstandards bodies have enacted intellectual property polices. Although these policies vary, they\ngenerally require that members of the standards body (1) disclose intellectual property that is\npertinent to a proposed standard and (2) license the intellectual property to others, often on\n\"reasonable and nondiscriminatory\" terms. Past litigation and governmental agency actions have\ninvolved cases where a member of a standards body allegedly did not abide by these obligations. \nVarious legal doctrines, including contract law, fraud, equitable estoppel and antitrust law, have been\nemployed to compel the observance of disclosure and licensing commitments. However, some\nuncertainty surrounds the enforceability of the intellectual property polices of standards bodies,\nparticularly against individuals and firms that were not members of the group that promulgated the\nstandard.\n  Should Congress have an interest in this area, several options present themselves. No action\nneed be taken if the current relationship between industry standards and intellectual property is\ndeemed satisfactory, particularly as standards bodies become increasingly aware of intellectual\nproperty and as the growing number of judicial precedents may make the legal situation clearer. \nCongress might also encourage the development of model intellectual property disclosure and\nlicensing obligations for use by standards bodies; assist standards bodies in identifying intellectual\nproperty that pertains to a proposed standard; and, as a possible more far-reaching legal reform,\nencourage proprietors to disclose intellectual properties that bear upon proposed industry standards.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "topics": []
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  ],
  "topics": [
    "American Law",
    "Economic Policy"
  ]
}