Unresolved legal questions about patents and standard setting

This column will be one of several concerning presently unresolved legal issues that arise in connection with standard setting and the licensing or enforcement of patents that cover some aspect of the standard. Resolving these issues might require standard-setting organizations to adopt appropriate bylaws. Or companies participating in standards setting might have to submit letters of agreement. Unfortunately, however, such documents are often absent, and the courts end up setting "default" procedures to govern the aftermath of silence by standard-setting organizations on these points.