Understanding Standard-Essential Patent Licensing and the Growing Impact on Health Care
This Briefing is brought to you by AHLA’s Antitrust Practice Group.
- May 28, 2025
- Priya Nair , Connected Health Initiative
- Brian Scarpelli , Connected Health Initiative
The integration of standardized technologies into health care devices has transformed patient care, enabling real-time data exchange, seamless interoperability, and improved outcomes. Technical standards such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and data exchange frameworks like Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) and HL7 are now foundational to modern health care systems. However, the widespread adoption of these standards introduces complex challenges, including the licensing of standard-essential patents (SEPs). SEPs are deemed “essential” to a standard and can create concentrated market power, disrupt competition, stifle innovation, and escalate costs for manufacturers and health care providers.
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