Essential Guidance for Non-(Standard) Essential Patent Pools: DOJ's UTLP Business Review Letter

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Essential Guidance for Non-(Standard) Essential Patent Pools: DOJ's UTLP Business Review Letter

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On January 13, DOJ issued its first Business Review Letter on a non-standard essential patent (SEP) pool to the University Technology Licensing Program (UTLP), a consortium of research universities. In the letter, DOJ announced its intention not to challenge a patent pooling program that aggregates and licenses patents in the physical sciences owned by the participating universities.

The UTLP Business Review Letter is a significant development for owners of non-SEP patents that intend to pool their patents with other licensors. It demonstrates that DOJ is willing to consider favorably proposed pools that apply existing SEP pool guidance, as feasible, to non-SEP settings, especially when licensors offer robust safeguards against including substitutable patents and a licensing structure that does not require full portfolio licensing.

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