Examples of SSOs

There are hundreds of SSOs in the United States, each governed by its own rules.

Hundreds of nonprofit standards organizations throughout the U.S. have developed tens of thousands of standards. Each SDO is governed by its own distinct set of rules.

Brief of Amicus Curiae Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. at 4, Ericsson, Inc. v. D-Link Systems, Inc., No. 13-1625 (Fed. Cir. 2013).

Examples include:

  1. ASME

    ASME has over 90,000 members drawn from all fields of mechanical engineering. It has an annual operating budget of over $12 million. It employs a full-time staff, but much of its work is done through volunteers from industry and government. The Society engages in a number of activities, such as publishing a mechanical engineering magazine and conducting educational and research programs.

    American Soc. of Mechanical Engineers, Inc. v. Hydrolevel Corp., 456 US 556, 559 (S. Ct. 1982).

    In addition, ASME promulgates and publishes over 400 separate codes and standards for areas of engineering and industry. These codes, while only advisory, have a powerful influence: federal regulations have incorporated many of them by reference, as have the laws of most States, the ordinances of major cities, and the laws of all the Provinces of Canada. See Brief for Petitioner 2. Obviously, if a manufacturer's product cannot satisfy the applicable ASME code, it is at a great disadvantage in the marketplace.

    American Soc. of Mechanical Engineers, Inc. v. Hydrolevel Corp., 456 US 556, 559 (S. Ct. 1982).

  2. JEDEC

    JEDEC is a standard-setting body associated with the Electronic Industries Association (EIA). JEDEC member companies participate on various committees to develop standards for semiconductor technologies. Committee JC-42.3 drafts standards for random access memory (RAM), a common component in computers, printers, and other electronic devices.

    Rambus Inc. v. Infineon Technologies AG, 318 F. 3d 1081, 1085 (Fed. Cir. 2003).

    [T]he Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council ("JEDEC") ... [is] an open standard setting organization that developed (and continues to develop) standards for semiconductor products, including computer memory interfaces, to facilitate the interchangeability of products produced by different manufacturers. Members of a JEDEC committee meet several times a year to hear presentations by other members on proposed features to be included in the standard. The members then vote for which features to include.

    Hynix Semiconductor Inc. v. Rambus Inc., 645 F. 3d 1336, 1341-42 (Fed. Cir. 2011).

  3. UMTS

    A cellular telephone contains one or more computer "chipsets" … [which] transmit information, via radio waves, to cellular base stations. Base stations, in turn, transmit information to and from telephone and computer networks. It is essential that all components involved in this transmission of information be able to communicate seamlessly with one another. Because multiple vendors manufacture these components, industry-wide standards are necessary to ensure their interoperability.

    Broadcom Corp. v. Qualcomm Inc., 501 F. 3d 297, 303 (3rd Cir. 2007).

    Two technology paths, or families of standards, are in widespread use today: "CDMA," which stands for "code division multiple access"; and "GSM," which stands for "global system for mobility." … [E]ach technology path has its own standard or set of standards. The standard used in current generation GSM-path networks … is known as the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System ("UMTS") standard.

    Broadcom Corp. v. Qualcomm Inc., 501 F. 3d 297, 303 (3rd Cir. 2007).

    The UMTS standard was created by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute ("ETSI") and its SDO counterparts in the United States and elsewhere after a lengthy evaluation of available alternative equipment and technologies. … [T]he ETSI requires a commitment from vendors whose technologies are included in standards to license their technologies on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory ("FRAND") terms. Neither the ETSI nor the other relevant SDOs further define FRAND.

    Broadcom Corp. v. Qualcomm Inc., 501 F. 3d 297, 303 (3rd Cir. 2007).

  4. 310 Designation

    Clamp-All's major attack concerns CISPI's promulgation of a standard called the 310 Designation. … CISPI successfully persuaded various private standard-setting bodies, as well as state and local plumbing code authorities, to make reference to the 310 Designation as the kind of coupling that would meet their respective standards.

    Clamp-All Corp. v. Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute, 851 F. 2d 478, 486-87 (1st Cir. 1988).

  5. 3GPP

    [A] non-profit standard setting organization called Third Generation Partnership Project ("3GPP") … institutes uniform technology standards for the telecommunications industry to ensure worldwide compatibility of cellular devices and systems. More than 260 companies belong to 3GPP, representing all levels of the cell phone industry. The 3GPP members are responsible for creating and developing the 3GPP standard, which means determining what technologies will be included in the standard as either mandatory or optional features.

    Golden Bridge Technology, Inc. v. Motorola, Inc., 547 F. 3d 266, 269 (5th Cir. 2008).

    Changes to the 3GPP standard occur through consensus of the individual members. Individual members are divided into Working Groups, which have different responsibilities related to developing the standard. Each Working Group belongs to one of six Technical Specification Groups, and the Technical Specification Groups are presided over at the top level by the Project Coordination Group. The Working Groups propose changes to the 3GPP standard by submitting change requests to the other Working Groups, which if approved are submitted to the relevant Technical Specification Group for decision.

    Golden Bridge Technology, Inc. v. Motorola, Inc., 547 F. 3d 266, 269 (5th Cir. 2008).

  6. ITU

    [T]he H.264 video-coding standard [is] set by the ITU … [and] pertains to an efficient method of video compression.

    Microsoft Corp. v. Motorola, Inc., 795 F. 3d 1024, 1031 (Fed. Cir. 2015).

  7. IEEE

    802.11 wireless local area network standard [is] set by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ("IEEE"). … The 802.11 standard regards the wireless transfer of information using radio frequencies, commonly referred to as "WiFi." … The 802.11 WiFi network standard is incorporated into Xbox.

    Microsoft Corp. v. Motorola, Inc., 795 F. 3d 1024, 1031 (Fed. Cir. 2015).

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