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Standard essential patents (SEP) regulation

In “A new plan for Europe's sustainable prosperity and competitiveness”

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Patents provide incentives for research and development, and facilitate knowledge transfers. Standards ensure the rapid diffusion of technologies and the interoperability between products. Many standards are based on patented technologies. For example, the mobile telecommunications industry (e.g. 2G (GSM), 3G (UMTS), 4G (LTE), 5G and WiFi networks) rely on patented technologies to work. 

A number of organisations engaged in standard setting have developed rules and practices to ensure the efficient licensing of patents that are essential for their standards ('standard-essential patents' or SEPs). However, for many years, the current system has suffered from a lack of transparency, predictability, and lengthy disputes and litigation. In its  2020 IP Action Plan, the Commission stressed the need for “a much clearer and more predictable framework, incentivising good faith negotiations rather than recourse to litigations”.

The applicability of SEPs (particularly for connectivity standards) is going to increase with the rise of the ‘Internet of Things' (IoT) and to ensure that Europe is well positioned in today’s competitive global environment, the Commission supports removing unnecessary barriers in the market for the licensing of SEPs.

Against this background, the Commission published in April 2023 a proposal on standard essential patents amending the current rules (Regulation (EU) 2017/1001).  The standard essential patents proposal:

  • provides additional transparency regarding SEP portfolios, aggregate royalty (when patents of several holders are involved) and allow for more efficient means for parties to agree on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms of their licenses.
  • introduces measures on the following aspects: a SEP register, database and essentiality checks; expert opinions on SEP aggregate royalty; FRAND determination by means of conciliation in lieu of costly litigation; SME support measures; and the establishment of a ‘Competence centre' at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

The European Economic and Social Committee delivered its opinion in September 2023 pointing at the need for a proper staffing of EUIPO and an appeal mechanism to challenge EUIPO decisions. 

In Parliament, the file was assigned to the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) and Marion Walsmann (EPP, Germany) was appointed as rapporteur. In her draft report unveiled in October 2023, the rapporteur supported the Commission’s initiative and the proposed measures including EUIPO new competences but calls for more legal clarity and bridging the interests of SEP holders and implementers (for an overview, see Legislative briefing in further reading section).

The Legal Affairs Committee adopted Marion Walsmann's report on 24 January (with 13 votes for, no votes against and 10 abstentions). The EP position, inter alia:

  • Defines more precisely those use cases of standards for which the Commission may establish that there are no 'significant difficulties or inefficiencies in licensing on FRAND terms' and for which, therefore, there is no obligation to initiate FRAND determination procedure. A procedure to submit a reasoned request to the Commission has been enshrined in the text.  

  •  Agrees on tasking EUIPO with new powers to help reduce SEP litigations and increase transparency with, inter alia, a register of holders of SEPs and an electronic database with detailed information on SEPs terms for registered users. The EUIPO competence centre are tasked to train evaluators of SEPs and conciliators mediating between parties and establish rosters of EU candidates for these positions. The EP position added provisions to ensure these candidates have the necessary qualifications and are impartial and ensure that the competence centre would further cooperate with national and international patent offices as well as authorities of third countries dealing with SEPs to get information about the SEPs-related rules outside the EU.  

  • Tasks the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to create a SEP Licensing Assistance Hub as a one-stop shop to provide free-of-charge training and support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups. EUIPO should also help small companies to identify which standard essential patent they will need to use for when developing their products and on how to best enforce their rights. 

Parliament adopted its negotiating position on 28 February 2024 (with 454 votes for, 83 against and 78 abstentions). 

In Council, the proposal was presented by the Commission and a first exchange of views took place in May 2023. Awaiting Council's 1st reading position. On 20 May 2025, a note from Germany, Czechia, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain stressed the need to continue discussions on the SEP proposal.

Commission announced to withdraw the proposal in its 2025 work programme. The proposal has been formally withdrawn in October 2025. In November 2025, the Parliament approved maintaining its action before the EU Court of Justice -  which oversees the inter-institutional issues - for the annulment of the Commission's decision to withdraw the SEP proposal. A summary of the suit filed by the Parliament against the Commission before the EU Court of Justice has been published in January 2026. 

References:

Further reading:

Author: Stefano De Luca, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu

As of 20/02/2026.