Standards developing organizations (SDOs) typically require their members to license any patent that is essential to implementing the standard (referred to as a Standard-Essential Patent or SEP) on reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) terms. A number of high-stakes disputes have recently arisen about what these "RAND" commitments really mean and how they can be resolved more efficiently and without resort to litigation. Many have pointed to arbitration as a possible means of resolving them. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) will hold a Legal Issues Forum, Arbitration of RAND Disputes, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 1, 2013, at the Newseum's Knight Conference Center, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, in Washington, DC. The event is part of the World Standards Week series of meetings and celebrations hosted annually by the Institute, coordinator of the U.S. voluntary standardization system.
Following introductory remarks from ANSI president and CEO S. Joe Bhatia, Oliver (Ollie) Smoot, past International Organization for Standardization (ISO) president and former chairman of ANSI's Board of Directors, will deliver the Legal Issues Forum's keynote address. Mr. Smoot served as both vice president for external voluntary standard relations and executive vice president at ANSI organizational member the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) and has been a key figure in the fields of standards and intellectual property for more than 40 years.
An interactive roundtable discussion on issues related to arbitration of RAND disputes will be moderated by Jorge Contreras, associate professor of law at American University in Washington, DC. The broad range of panelists participating in this discussion includes:
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 requires a registration fee of $295 for current ANSI members and $350 for non-members. Registration is available on the event webpage.
World Standards Week, to be held this year on September 30-October 4, 2013, is an annual event where members of the standards and conformity assessment community come together in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration. For more information, including registration for other WSW events and details on all meetings and conferences, visit www.ansi.org/wsweek.
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).