UKIPO launch consultation on Standard Essential Patents

The UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) has today launched a consultation on proposals to make the Standard Essential Patent (SEP) ecosystem work better and more transparently for innovative UK businesses of all sizes – from tech startups to major manufacturers.

The proposals include potential measures aimed at improving efficiency and transparency in SEP licensing. These are:

Rate Determination Track - a new rate determination route at the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) to determine licence rates for SEPs, in a bid to provide a simpler and more efficient approach to proceedings to determine the correct licence rate.

Searchable standard related patent information - the government is considering whether to supplement the One IPO Search service by mandating provision of information on patents disclosed as essential at standard development organisations (SDOs). This could allow users to navigate the One IPO Search Service and search for standard related patents in the same way that they are able to for Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) and Green Channel patents.

The consultation also extends to other areas of the SEP ecosystem such pre-action protocols, remedies, and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services.

The consultation launched on 15 July 2025 and is open until 7 October 2025.

To understand more about what this could mean for you, please don't hesitate to get in touch. 

The consultation includes proposals that could require regulation. These relate to establishing a Rate Determination Track (RDT) and supplementing the One IPO Search Service with standard related patent information.

www.gov.uk/...