Standard Essential Patent (SEP) policies continue to evolve, with recent policy statements providing inconsistent guidance on whether — and when — SEP owners should obtain injunctive relief against prospective licensees. The Trump Administration issued a policy statement asserting that injunctive relief and exclusion orders from the ITC should be “equally available” for SEP owners, but the Biden Administration withdrew this policy statement.

Despite this injunction-related uncertainty in US litigation, recent high-profile cases indicate that the ITC remains an attractive forum for SEP owners. In this session we will examine the approach and strategic role of the ITC in SEP litigation. Topics of discussion include:

• The willingness of US District Courts to issue injunctions in patent cases
• The need to be prepared to point to public interest concerns based on SEP owners’ FRAND (fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory) Commitments
• Analyzing recent SEP case developments and understanding recent policy statement
• The effects of the fast-paced and frequently expensive discovery
• The prospects for future exclusion orders on SEPs