Technical standard contribution data can drastically change how a technology, portfolio, or competitor is viewed. An analysis of a company’s number of contributions shows whether it is leading in standards development. This assumes that companies with the greatest influence (ie, those that have submitted most of the approved technical contributions) will also have the strongest SEP portfolios. However, standards contributions and SEPs cannot be counted equally. Experts in the field emphasize that the main goal of submitting a technical contribution is to develop the best possible standard to enable products in the market. Therefore, some contributions may not describe a technical step that is essential to the standard and a sizable share of technical specifications are not subject to patents. Still, the submission of patented contributions allows SEPs to be incorporated into standards. Contribution data therefore provides key information to understanding the competition for connectivity technologies.
Standards contribution information is typically not hosted on the standards organization’s website but is available within the standards consortia that develops the standard. IPlytics gathers all submitted contribution information in full text and creates a direct link to the contributing company. The parsing of contribution documents allows the associations between the standard contributions and the companies that have submitted the proposal. Contributions can be divided into:
The type of contribution demonstrates the magnitude of how the contribution influences the final standard and if the contribution was incorporated and is technical, thus potentially subject to SEPs. Also one can relate contributions to technology generations, groups and releases as follows:
While standards contributions differ in their impact are not intended to provide ownership of the standard, analyzing contribution data is a useful way to assess the involvement and investment of companies in standards development. Contribution data is especially important in cases where patent declaration databases for certain standards (eg, Wi-Fi or video compression (eg, HEVC or VVC)) are incomplete. Counting standards contributions allows us to understand who will likely own SEPs when companies do not publicly disclose them. In this webinar you will learn:
Watch the other videos in the Bridging the Gap series:
Leverage transparent and accessible data for SEPs, Technical standards, and contribution data analysis to ensure the success of your patent portfolio with LexisNexis® IPlytics.
