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The European Commission recently published the results of a major study on standards and patents conducted by Dialogic in collaboration with Fraunhofer Geselschaft. This is the first large-scale fact-funding study in this area. The report not only outlines the current situation and trends but also identifies the types of issues prevalent in this field based on a large number of interviews. The study is available through this link.
In addition, Rudi Bekkers from Dialogic has published a related study in the scientific journal Research Policy focusing on so-called 'essential patents'. These patents are claimed by companies to be indispensable for the implementation of specific technical standards, such as those for mobile telephony or video encoding. Over time, the number of such patents has significantly increased, sometimes exceeding 10,000 for certain standards. They grant the owner a relatively strong position of power and are often at the centre of numerous legal disputes. The mentioned study examines the determinants of claiming patents as essential. Does their actual value (do they improve or make the standard more cost-effective) drive these claims, or has the owner been able to influence the content of the standard, thereby incorporating trivial but patented techniques into it? For further information, refer to Bekkers, R., Bongard, R., & Nuvolari, A. (2011). An empirical study on the determinants of essential patent claims in compatibility standards. Research Policy, Volume 40, Issue 7, pp. 1001-1015.