Intellectual property
In the case of home-grown Estonian standards the inclusion policy of solutions covered with intellectual property rights into Estonian standards and standard-like documents of the EVS, is described in the guide EVS JUHEND 2.
There are three scenarios when the solution covered with the intellectual property rights (IPR) is considered to be included in a standard. The IPR owner (e.g. patent holder)
- is prepared to grant licenses free of charge, under non-discriminatory and reasonable terms,
- is prepared to grant licenses under non-discriminatory and reasonable terms (but not free of charge),
- does not agree with solution 1 nor 2.
In case the essential solution covered with IPR (e.g. patented solution) is included in an Estonian standard, standard draft or EVS/TS, the IPR holder shall declare (see Annex B form of the EVS JUHEND 2) under which basis it is willing to grant a licenses. The Estonian Centre for Standardisation and Accreditation makes such declarations available on the website.
If the IPR holder does not agree to license each applicant under non-discriminatory and reasonable terms, the drafting of standard amendment or new edition is initiated to remove such a solution from the document.
To facilitate standard implementation, EVS publishes relevant information on essential solutions covered with IPR (e.g. patent).
This information may not be final nor complete, but is restricted by the information known to EVS and included in the submitted declarations. If such a declaration exists, the standard users should contact the contact person of IPR holder referred to in the declaration to find out in which way it is allowed to use the solution (e.g. if they have to conclude a license agreement, etc.).
In the case of European and international standards, the CEN, CENELEC, ISO, and IEC IPR policy for standards follows the same principles that apply to home-grown Estonian standards. See more about the principles: in case of European Standard🡭 and in case of International Standard🡭.
