FRAND
Law & Legal abbreviation · Intellectual Property
| Stands for | Fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory |
|---|---|
| Categories | Law & Legal |
FRAND stands for Fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory, an intellectual property abbreviation.
Licensing commitment that owners of standard-essential patents give to standard-setting organizations such as ETSI and IEEE, promising to license their patents to anyone implementing the standard on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. What counts as FRAND is frequently litigated.
Example: The court set a global FRAND royalty for the patent portfolio after a two-week trial.
Usage notes
In the United States the commitment is often called RAND. Courts determine rates using comparable licenses and top-down methods, as in Microsoft v. Motorola (W.D. Wash. 2013). US courts have treated the commitment as an enforceable contract that implementers can invoke as third-party beneficiaries.
Related abbreviations
More intellectual property abbreviations
- CNIPA – China National Intellectual Property Administration
- Copr. – Copyright
- DOE – Doctrine of equivalents
- EPC – European Patent Convention
- EPO – European Patent Office
- EUIPO – European Union Intellectual Property Office
- FTO – Freedom to operate
- IDS – Information disclosure statement
- IP – Intellectual property
- IPR – Intellectual property rights
- ITU – Intent-to-use application
- MPEP – Manual of Patent Examining Procedure
See all 50 intellectual property abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not legal advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.