The Patentist

Putting a number on novelty

This post dives into the measurement of invention novelty, explaining how researchers have attempted “to quantify the unprecedented.”

Aug 13 • Gaétan de Rassenfosse

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July 2026

The false comfort of comparables

Navigating the EPO’s new FRAND study

Jul 28 • Gaétan de Rassenfosse

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Introducing The Patentist SEP Edition

The Patentist SEP Edition is a shorter, more specialized stream for readers interested in standard-essential patents (SEPs), FRAND licensing, patent…

Jul 14 • Gaétan de Rassenfosse

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FRAND is not a number

What WIPO's SEP valuation report gets right

Jul 14 • Gaétan de Rassenfosse

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Counting patents, miscounting innovation

For those who draft, examine, litigate, or value patents, counting patents to measure innovation can sound like a terrible idea.

Jul 9 • Gaétan de Rassenfosse

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June 2026

Patents after the invention machine

If AI starts generating more inventions, the central question is not whether a machine can sign an inventor declaration. It is how the patent system…

Jun 10 • Gaétan de Rassenfosse

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April 2026

The hidden policy power of patent fees

From the USPTO’s value-tax debate to the EPO’s micro-entity discounts, patent-office fees are the most visible and controllable price signals in the…

Apr 28 • Gaétan de Rassenfosse

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February 2026

When standards meet patents: The economics of SEPs and FRAND (Part II)

Standards solve a coordination problem—and then create a new one. Once an industry converges on a technical interface, compatibility becomes a…

Feb 26 • Gaétan de Rassenfosse

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When standards meet patents: The economics of SEPs and FRAND (Part I)

Standards create enormous economic value by making products work together. But they also create a special kind of bargaining over patents.

Feb 3 • Gaétan de Rassenfosse

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December 2025

Patent rights and cumulative innovation: Part II

When courts, libraries, and secrecy laws shift patent rights, what actually happens to follow-on innovation?

Dec 29, 2025 • Gaétan de Rassenfosse

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Patent rights and cumulative innovation: Part I

Balancing the first breakthrough against the next thousand improvements

Dec 9, 2025 • Gaétan de Rassenfosse

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November 2025

National Treatment: Principle or Practice?

Inside the national-treatment debate: theory, evidence, and the line between bias, burden, and selection.

Nov 4, 2025 • Gaétan de Rassenfosse

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