ANSI to Continue Discussion on Arbitration of RAND Disputes at Free Workshop on January 21
NEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Standards developing organizations (SDOs) typically require that patent holders license Standard-Essential Patents (SEPs) on reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) terms. In recent years, an increase in the number of high-profile SEP disputes in the mobile device sector has focused attention on what RAND commitments really mean and how disagreements about them can be resolved more efficiently and without resorting to litigation. Many have pointed to arbitration as a possible means of resolving these disputes.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) will hold a free workshop focused on Arbitration of RAND Disputes on Tuesday, January 21, 2014, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The event will be hosted by WilmerHale at 1875 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, DC. In addition to WilmerHale, the workshop is sponsored by American University and the American Society of International Law.
The workshop will build upon ANSI's October 1, 2013, Legal Issues Forum, which was also focused on arbitration as a potential resolution mechanism for RAND disputes.
The half-day event on January 21 will be structured as an interactive roundtable discussion and will be moderated by Jorge Contreras, associate professor of law at American University. The agenda includes a broad range of panelists:
- James Carter, senior counsel, WilmerHale
- Carter Eltzroth, legal director, Digital Video Broadcasting Project (DVB)
- Renata Hesse, deputy assistant attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Christian Loyau, legal affairs director, European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
- Robert Mahini, policy counsel, Google
- J. Gregory Sidak, chairman, Criterion Economics
- Nicholas Widnell, deputy assistant director, Anticompetitive Practices Division, Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
ANSI members and all interested stakeholders including those from government, industry, business, consumer groups, and academia are encouraged to attend and share their perspectives, insights, and expertise on resolving RAND disputes through arbitration and other means.
Attendance at the event is free, but advance registration is required.
About ANSI
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is made up of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.
The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).
SOURCE American National Standards Institute
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