Patenteering

A portmanteau of patent and engineering, or patent and profiteering – where a company does not contribute any technology but uses knowledge and information gained through its role in a standard setting process to file standards essential patents or commercially essential patents. Such patents present a high risk of being obvious (or lacking an inventive step) and, depending on the company’s disclosure during the US patent application in particular, inequitable conduct or even fraud on the patent office.  It may also raise issues under competition and antitrust law if it violates various guidelines on standard setting or the rules of the standards organisation that usually embodies and implements those guidelines.

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