IEEE Patent Policy Changes Seek To Put Brakes On Surging Litigation

Intense debate, reignited by a 2012 International Telecommunication Union roundtable on rampant patent litigation and the “innovation-stifling” use of intellectual property, together with the growing lack of standards bodies' patent policies, prompted the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE) last year to revisit parts of its patent policy that had been causing some concerns, Managing Director Konstantinos Karachalios said at a 17 February Oxfirst webinar.The changes aim to clear up some ambiguities. Perhaps predictably, however, some pushback has arisen among industries affected by the change.