Government sets out next steps on Standard Essential Patents
Targeted measures announced to make SEP licensing clearer, more accessible and more efficient.
The government has today published its response to its consultation on Standard Essential Patents (SEPs).
This sets out a package of targeted, practical measures the government will take forward to improve transparency, make dispute resolution more efficient and support better-informed licensing negotiations for SEPs.
SEPs are patents which protect innovations essential to technical standards, enabling products and services to connect, communicate and operate across borders. They underpin economically significant technologies including in smartphones, Wi-Fi, connected vehicles, medical technology and advanced manufacturing. Their importance is set to grow as declared SEPs increase worldwide, and new technical standards develop for emerging technologies such as 6G and artificial intelligence.
The measures set out in the consultation response are focused on making this increasingly important ecosystem clearer and more efficient for all businesses to navigate.
The government will take forward targeted measures to:
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improve SEP dispute resolution by supporting more efficient and lower cost resolution of disputes
- the government will work with the judiciary to explore the introduction of a court-anchored early FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) determination process within existing England and Wales court proceedings
- the government will develop FRAND licensing guidelines setting out how parties should engage with that pathway, and any IPO-led FRAND opinion service; and
- the government will undertake a call for evidence on the feasibility and design of a voluntary IPO-led FRAND opinion service to give parties an early view on whether a proposed SEP licence offer lies within a FRAND range
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improve access to SEP information
- the government will develop a voluntary route for rightsholders to provide standard-related patent information at the IPO
- this will include working with industry to develop a workable approach that makes it easier for businesses to identify relevant SEPs
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improve pre-litigation conduct
- the government will support more constructive engagement before disputes reach court, helping parties understand expected behaviours, including more effective pre-action information exchange, and clearer signposting to existing alternative dispute resolution services
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make practical licensing guidance available
- the government will develop practical guidance in collaboration with industry for good-faith SEP licensing negotiations, particularly to support businesses with limited SEP licensing experience
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support better essentiality assessment
- the government will work with industry to improve transparency, encouraging better-quality information around existing services, and explore non-binding best practice principles for essentiality assessments and reporting
- consultation evidence did not establish a clear case for an IPO-run essentiality checking service at this stage
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improving wider support and international engagement
- the government will improve awareness of existing alternative dispute resolution options, expand the IPO’s SEP Resource Hub and continue its international collaboration to help businesses navigate SEP licensing across global markets
A balanced and efficient SEP licensing environment helps businesses access the standardised technologies they need, while ensuring innovators receive a fair return on research and development. This matters for major UK sectors that rely on SEP-dependent technologies, including telecommunications, which contributes more than £40 billion a year to GDP. This environment will become increasingly important as new technical standards develop in areas such as AI, quantum, advanced connectivity and semiconductors.
By making SEP licensing clearer, more transparent and easier to navigate, the measures set out in the consultation response will help more businesses make use of standardised technologies with confidence and support faster, more efficient resolution of SEP disputes. They also support the government’s wider work to leverage the economic potential of digital standards, and strengthen UK’s influence in the development of international standards that help shape the technologies and markets of the future.
A transparent and predictable SEP ecosystem also supports continued access to a wide range of connected products and services for UK consumers, supporting businesses to bring standardised technologies to market.
The government carefully considered stakeholder concerns about the impact, or threatened use, of injunctions during SEP licensing negotiations. However, the consultation did not provide sufficient evidence that the current framework is systematically preventing market entry, discouraging innovation, or causing businesses to withdraw products from the UK market. On that basis, the government does not consider further action to limit the availability of injunctions in SEP disputes appropriate at this time.
Taken together, the evidence pointed to a targeted and proportionate package of action as the right next step. The government has therefore decided not to introduce a standalone Rate Determination Track or an essentiality checking service at this stage. Instead, it will focus on measures to improve transparency, support earlier resolution of disputes and help all businesses navigate SEP licensing more effectively.
In the immediate term, the Intellectual Property Office will begin further technical assessments of the feasibility and design of a potential FRAND Opinion Service. As part of this work, it will invite evidence and views from businesses, professional advisers, academics and other interested parties.
The Intellectual Property Office’s CEO Adam Williams said:
Standard Essential Patents underpin an increasing number of the technologies businesses and consumers rely on every day, from the next generations of mobile connectivity to advanced manufacturing and medical technologies.
These targeted measures are about supporting the SEP ecosystem function more effectively - removing unnecessary friction, encouraging better licensing negotiations and helping businesses access standardised technologies while ensuring innovation is rewarded.
Improving transparency and supporting earlier resolution of disputes will help ensure the UK’s SEP ecosystem works for businesses of all sizes, providing a more transparent and predictable environment that supports innovation and investment in the UK.
The government will continue to engage stakeholders as measures are developed and implemented.
Notes to editors:
- the government’s SEPs consultation ran between 15 July and 7 October 2025. It received 93 responses from businesses, representative organisations, legal and academic experts, and others with direct experience of SEP licensing
- the consultation sought views and evidence on whether the SEP licensing ecosystem functions efficiently for UK businesses, particularly Small medium enterprises (SMEs). It asked whether targeted reforms could improve transparency around pricing and essentiality, encourage earlier conclusion of licensing negotiations and support faster, more efficient dispute resolution
- responses broadly supported these aims, although stakeholders expressed differing views on the scale of the issues identified, the most appropriate solutions and whether there was a case for government intervention
- the government’s consultation response confirms that it will not introduce a standalone IPEC Rate Determination Track or an essentiality checking service at this stage
- FRAND stands for fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory, in the context of SEPs, it refers to licensing terms that SEP holders may commit to offer when their patented technology is incorporated into a technical standard
- a call for evidence, feasibility work and design will now begin on a FRAND Opinion Service. No final decision has been made on whether to establish this measure. This work will be led by the IPO and will begin very shortly. The call for evidence will be published on GOV.UK upon its launch
- the work on SEPs supports the government’s wider approach to digital standards by helping businesses access and license standardised technologies with greater clarity and confidence. This aligns with the government’s policy paper Shaping Tomorrow: The UK’s Digital Standards Strategy 2026 to 2030. This paper sets out how the UK can leverage the economic potential of digital standards and navigate the challenges in the years ahead, helping to reinforce its longstanding leadership in a modern, digitally connected world
- in July 2024, the IPO launched the world’s first SEPs resource hub. The hub is a collection of guidance and signposting to help UK businesses navigate the SEPs ecosystem more confidently. The measures announced in the consultation response include expanding the hub so all businesses can access clearer practical information and support on SEP licensing