표준필수특허(SEP) 과잉선언의 문제와 필수성 재고 방안

One of the important facts about Standard Essential Patents(SEP) is that not all declared SEP are essential, and not all essential patents are declared. In particular, while the number of SEP declared by Standard- Setting Organizations has nearly tripled over the past five years, only a few have actually been found to be essential. Because Patent holders have a clear incentive to hold dSEPs, they are willing to declare as many patents as SEP as possible. Moreover most SSOs don’t review the essentiality of dSEPs or require updates of relevant information. In this regard, the problem of over-declaration arises. Although the overdeclaration of SEP can lead to significant inefficiencies in both patent licensing and litigation and increase social costs, academic interest in these problems was not great. This paper deals with the problem of over-declaration of SEP, which has not received much attention. Starting with the analysis of the various causes of the widespread over- declaration, the social costs and solutions to reconsider the essentiality of SEP will be reviewed in turn. Specifically, there are establishing an essentiality assessment system or patent pseudo-pools, introducing AI-based SEP prediction model, and estimating essentiality through other determinants such as broad filing of a patent across multiple countries.