Biden Encourages Reconsideration of December 2019 SEP Policy Statement

Three cheers for section 5(d) of yesterday's Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy:

To avoid the potential for anticompetitive extension of market power beyond the scope of granted patents, and to protect standard-setting processes from abuse, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Commerce are encouraged to consider whether to revise their position on the intersection of the intellectual property and antitrust laws, including by considering whether to revise the Policy Statement on Remedies for Standards-Essential Patents Subject to Voluntary F/RAND Commitments issued jointly by the Department of Justice, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology on December 19, 2019.

For my views on the December 19, 2019 Policy Statement, see here.