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UK Government outlines SEP reform plans: targeted changes aim to streamline licensing

David Al-Khalili
David Al-Khalili
Partner, Patent Attorney

The UK Government has published its response to the July 2025 consultation on standard essential patents (SEPs), setting out the measures it intends to take forward to make SEP licensing clearer, more accessible and more efficient. The response follows the UKIPO's 2026–27 Corporate Plan, which we discussed in an earlier article, and which confirmed that SEPs would remain an important area of policy development during 2026. The latest announcement provides considerably more detail on the Government's planned next steps.

SEPs protect technologies that are essential to implementing technical standards and play an important role in fields such as telecommunications, Wi-Fi, connected vehicles, medical technology and advanced manufacturing. Their significance is expected to increase further as standards develop in emerging areas including 6G and artificial intelligence.

A targeted approach to reform

Perhaps most notable is what the UK Government has decided not to do. Rather than making major changes to the existing system, it has opted for a more targeted package of measures aimed at making SEP licensing more transparent and helping parties resolve disputes earlier and at lower cost. It will not, for example, introduce the previously proposed standalone rate determination track or an essentiality checking service run by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) at this stage.

Instead, the government intends to:

  • explore earlier ways of resolving disputes relating to fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licence terms, including an early determination process within existing court proceedings and a possible voluntary UKIPO service offering an initial view on whether proposed licence terms fall within a FRAND range;
  • make SEP information easier to access, including exploring ways for patent owners to provide standards-related patent information to the UKIPO;
  • encourage better licensing negotiations, with practical guidance on good-faith negotiations and expected behaviours and better exchange of information before litigation; and
  • improve transparency around essentiality, including exploring best-practice principles for assessing and reporting whether patents are essential to a standard.  

No change on injunctions for now

Another significant aspect of the response concerns injunctions. The government considered concerns about the impact, or threatened use, of injunctions in SEP licensing negotiations. However, it concluded that the consultation had not produced sufficient evidence that the existing framework is systematically preventing market entry, discouraging innovation or causing businesses to withdraw products from the UK market. It therefore does not presently propose further measures restricting the availability of injunctions in SEP disputes.

The proposed early FRAND determination process and possible UKIPO opinion service may nevertheless provide parties with useful mechanisms for narrowing disputes before they develop into full-scale litigation.

What happens next?

The detail of several of these proposals remains to be worked out. In particular, no final decision has yet been made on establishing a UKIPO FRAND opinion service, with further work and a call for evidence planned on its feasibility and design. The government will also continue engaging with stakeholders as the wider package of measures is developed and implemented.

Overall, the government has opted for targeted changes rather than a fundamental overhaul of the UK's approach to SEPs, with a focus on greater transparency and resolving licensing disputes earlier and more efficiently. For SEP holders and implementers alike, the practical significance will therefore depend heavily on how the proposed FRAND processes and accompanying guidance are ultimately designed.

We will continue to monitor developments closely and report on any significant updates. In the meantime, if you have any questions about SEPs or any other IP matter, please contact the author or any member of the D Young & Co LLP team.

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