STANDARD ESSENTIAL PATENTS AND THE CONTROVERSIAL REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Year 2024, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 71 - 100, 16.07.2024

Muhammet Burak Ozcelik

Abstract

The importance of standards in the global economy is increasingly growing, and these standards, applied across various industry sectors, facilitate harmonious interaction between products, thereby ensuring the continuity of economic production. Standard Essential Patents (SEPs), particularly in fields like the telecommunications sector, emerge as mandatory elements that facilitate technological compatibility. The article examines the role of SEPs within global technological standards, as well as the impact of these patents on market actors and the new regulations in the European Union. It specifically points to the need to establish a balance between the protection of intellectual property rights and the establishment of effective competition in the market, which is frequently discussed in the European Union. The licensing of SEPs should be carried out under Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) terms and this process should be conducted in a highly transparent manner. Furthermore, the article addresses the complexities and issues arising in the SEP licensing process and examines the proposed draft SEP regulation in the European Union as a method of resolution. The review was carried out through literature research and the evaluation of the precedent decisions on SEPs in the European Union, the United States of America and in Türkiye. In this framework, the opportunity to analyse the problems encountered in practice and to evaluate the approach of the academia to these events has been established.

Keywords

SEP, standard essential patents, patent, interoperability, standarts

Standarda Esas Patentler ve Avrupa Birliği’nin Tartışmalı Düzenlemesi

Abstract

Küresel ekonomide standartların önemi giderek artmakta ve çeşitli endüstri sektörlerinde uygulanan bu standartlar, ürünler arasındaki uyumlu etkileşimi kolaylaştırarak ekonomik üretimin sürekliliğini sağlamaktadır. Standarda esas patentler (SEP), özellikle telekomünikasyon sektörü gibi alanlarda, teknolojik uyumluluğu kolaylaştıran zorunlu unsurlar olarak öne çıkmaktadır. Makalede, SEP’lerin küresel teknolojik standartlar içindeki yerinin yanı sıra, bu patentlerin pazardaki aktörler üzerindeki etkileri ve Avrupa Birliği’nin yeni düzenlemeleri incelenmektedir. Özellikle Avrupa Birliği’nde sıkça gündeme gelen fikri mülkiyet haklarının korunması ve pazardaki etkin rekabetin tesisi arasındaki dengenin kurulması hususuna işaret etmektedir. SEP’lerin lisanslanması, özellikle adil, makul ve ayrımcı olmayan şeklinde ifade edilen FRAND şartları altında gerçekleştirilmeli ve bu süreç oldukça şeffaf bir şekilde yürütülmelidir. Ayrıca makalede SEP’lerin lisanslama sürecindeki karmaşık durum ile doğan sorunları ele almakta ve Avrupa Birliği’nde teklif edilen taslak SEP düzenlemesinin çözüm yöntemi incelenmiştir. İnceleme literatür taramasının gerçekleştirilmesi ve Avrupa Birliği, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ile ülkemizde SEP’lere ilişkin verilen emsal niteliğindeki kararların değerlendirilmesi yöntemleriyle gerçekleştirilmiştir Bu çerçevede uygulamada karşılaşılan sorunların analizi imkânı ile akademinin bu olaylara yaklaşımının değerlendirilmesi fırsatı oluşmuştur.

Keywords

SEP, standarda esas patentler, patent, uyumlu çalışma, standartlar

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