#27 Jamie Simpson | The U.S. policy perspective on SEPs

Jamie L. Simpson is the Chief Policy Officer and Counsel for the Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP). She was previously the Chief Counsel for the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet. Before that, she worked on the Senate Judiciary Committee, handling intellectual property policy in detail with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. At the USPTO, she was a senior advisor to the USPTO Director, handling critical policy issues, attending meetings with the Commerce Department and White House, and helping to coordinate the agency’s work. She started at the USPTO as an associate solicitor, where she defended the agency’s decisions before federal courts and worked on some of the first cases to adjudicate the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011.

In this podcast, Jamie discusses US IP policy and the role of SEPs. She explains why the 2019 Standards-Essential Patents policy was withdrawn and what to expect regarding SEP policy guidance. She also comments on a draft bill proposing a federal SEP royalty court with global impact, which has generated controversy in the US.

Jamie says that discussions about Standard Essential Patents (SEP) in US politics are mainly triggered by global litigation. While some disputes over SEP gain attention, many deals are closed without conflict. Jamie believes that the EU Commission went too far with its draft proposal to regulate SEP licensing. She thinks that regulators should ensure a level playing field for market participants to negotiate SEP licenses, rather than influencing FRAND determination. She also shares concerns about the European Commission's intellectual property policy shift, which threatens innovation leadership, economic success, and security in Europe and America.

Jamie joined C4IP in May 2023 to promote intellectual property rights that drive innovation and improve lives worldwide. She emphasizes the importance of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) and standardized technologies. Jamie believes that a working system is required to incentivize standards developers while ensuring their investments are recouped. She warns that too much regulation may hinder innovation, leading to silos of technologies that cannot communicate. Policymakers must base decisions on data and move cautiously to avoid harming a functioning system.