특허플랫폼의 성공적 운영을 위한 요건

Requirements for Effective Establishment and Management of Patent Platform

Establishing a standard in the industry of information and telecommunication requires a number of patented inventions because providing a service or a product of cutting-edge technology needs many inventions. Because patent rights are exclusive, they hinder follow-on innovation in sequential innovation process. Critical problems in innovation process exist in the relationship between the first innovator and follow-on innovators. Many patents constituted "patent thickets" and caused the "tragedy of anti-commons." Because of "hold-outs" and the "patent thicket," transaction cost will become enormously high and thus establishing standard will not be feasible if licensing agreements should be achieved with every patent holder. Market participants have tried to solve these problems by establishing patent pools or patent platforms. Patent platforms rather than patent pools are adequate when essential patents are so many and held by so many patent holders that package licensing is inappropriate. There are five standards for third generation mobile telecommunications. They are different and competitive one another. Each standard needs a number of technologies which many companies have essential patents. In these circumstances, a patent platform is appropriate because it would be almost impossible to establish a patent pool including five standards and to provide package licensing including every essential patent in a patent pool. This article provides requirements for effective establishment and management of a patent platform as a substitute for a patent pool by exploring the structure, functions and features of a patent platform compared with a patent pool.