Technical standards enable interoperability across industries ranging from consumer electronics and streaming services to connected vehicles, medical devices and advanced manufacturing. But for many companies that implement standards without large patent portfolios of their own, today’s SEP licensing environment can create significant uncertainty, unexpected costs, and barriers to innovation. This panel will ground the day’s discussions in the real-world experiences of American businesses navigating SEP licensing and litigation. Panelists will discuss how escalating royalty demands, global litigation pressure and opaque licensing practices affect investment decisions, product development and market competition across diverse sectors of the economy. The conversation will highlight why balanced FRAND commitments matter not only for technology companies, but also for consumers, supply chains and America’s broader innovation ecosystem.

Speakers

Moderator

Morgan Reed

President

Association for Competitive Technology

Reed Hablinski

Senior Intellectual Property Counsel

HP

Alex Moss

Executive Director

Public Interest Patent Law Institute (PIPLI)

Vanessa Bailey

Founder & Principal

Orenda Strategies, LLC

Dan Robbins

Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel

Motion Picture Association

Technical standards are foundational to America’s industrial base and global economic leadership. From automotive manufacturing and retail technology to semiconductors and connected devices, businesses across the economy rely on predictable and balanced SEP licensing practices to bring products to market, manage supply chains and compete globally. This panel will explore how growing uncertainty in SEP licensing and litigation is affecting American competitiveness, increasing costs for manufacturers and consumers and creating risks across critical supply chains. Panelists will discuss how policymakers can support innovation and investment by reinforcing transparency, predictability, and fairness in the standards ecosystem, while ensuring the United States remains a leader in emerging technologies and advanced manufacturing.

Speakers

Moderator

Dave Djavaherian

President

PacTech Law, P.C.

Kent Baker

Founder & Principal

Conversent IP Advisory

Ceara Flake

Vice President & Deputy General Counsel

National Retail Federation

Charles Haake

Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel

Alliance for Automotive Innovation

SEP disputes are increasingly global, with courts and regulators around the world playing a growing role in shaping licensing outcomes for U.S. companies. From injunctions and foreign rate-setting decisions to trade pressures and Section 301 concerns, international developments are reshaping the balance of power in standards-related disputes and raising important questions about fairness, sovereignty and competitiveness. This panel will examine how foreign litigation and regulatory actions are affecting U.S. innovators and implementers, the evolving role of U.S. courts in global FRAND disputes, and whether current international frameworks adequately protect American economic interests. Panelists will also discuss the implications of divergent global approaches to SEP enforcement and what policymakers can do to ensure that U.S. companies are not placed at a disadvantage in international licensing negotiations.

Speakers

Moderator

David Katz

Adjunct Scholar

R Street

Scott Hayden

Vice President of Intellectual Property

Amazon

Anthony D. Del Monaco

Senior Counsel, IP Litigation

Lenovo (U.S.) Inc.

Shawnna Yashar

Intellectual Property Litigation Partner

O’Melveny & Myers LLP

Save Our Standards will present Congressman Darrell Issa with its inaugural Standards & Competitiveness Champion award, recognizing his leadership on standards policy and American competitiveness. Following the award presentation, Rep. Issa will sit down with MLex reporter Nick Robertson for a special fireside chat on standards, SEPs and the policies shaping American innovation and technological leadership.

Speakers

Congressman

Darrell Issa

Nick Robertson

Intellectual Property Reporter

MLex

The availability of injunctive relief in SEP disputes remains one of the most consequential and contested questions in patent policy. At the center of the debate is the Supreme Court’s decision in eBay v. MercExchange and whether companies that have made FRAND commitments should be permitted to seek injunctions when monetary remedies are available. This panel will examine the continuing importance of eBay in preserving balance within the patent system and preventing the use of injunction threats as leverage in licensing negotiations. Panelists will discuss how courts in the United States and abroad are approaching injunctive relief in SEP cases, the growing use of exclusion orders and foreign injunctions, and the broader implications for innovation, competition, and participation in standards development.

Speakers

Moderator

Laura Sheridan

Head of Patent Policy

Google

Brian Love

Professor of Law

Santa Clara University

Vaishali Udupa

Chief Intellectual Property Counsel

Verizon

John Lee

Senior Director & Head of IP Policy

Computer & Communications Industry Association

Joe Matal

Principal

Clear IP

Technical standards promote competition, interoperability, and affordable access to innovative technologies. As some SEP holders pursue aggressive, anti-competitive licensing tactics that exceed their voluntary FRAND commitments, the effects ripple through the economy by increasing costs for American manufacturers, discouraging market entry, and ultimately raising prices for consumers. This panel will discuss why balanced FRAND enforcement is critical for ensuring competition and consumer welfare and how foreign jurisdictions are increasingly viewing SEP abuse as a competition concern. Panelists will also examine what is at stake if U.S. agencies reconsider longstanding safeguards that have supported American technological leadership.

Speakers

Moderator

Suzanne Munck

Counsel, Antitrust and Competition

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Juli Schwartz

Senior Special Counsel

House Judiciary Committee, majority

Nadia Soboleva

Principal: Competition, Antitrust & Intellectual Property

Charles River Associates

Gail Levine

Antitrust Partner

Paul Hastings

Jennifer Milici

Partner

WilmerHale