Patent Evaluation Process

Initially, a patent owner fills out and submits an application form to IPEC specifying which claims in the patent are considered to be essential. Then, a patent is evaluated by an IPEC appointed Evaluation Panel comprising a Lead Evaluator from the patent jurisdiction and two Assistant Evaluators (all three are patent attorneys).

In the event of a negative outcome the process permits a re-evaluation by the same evaluation panel if a request is made within a specified timeframe. Finally there is an appeal process with the creation of a new Evaluation Panel.

The submission of a patent forming part of a patent family in which a patent has already been certified as essential is evaluated using a single evaluator from the patent jurisdiction.

The overall evaluation process was defined as part of an industry initiative to develop a patent pool for the 3G mobile technology.