Brussels, October 2, 2019 – The Fair Standards Alliance (FSA) welcomes Landis+Gyr as its newest member and the second energy company to join the group. The FSA is a broad alliance of small, medium-sized and multinational companies across multiple industries and sectors that bring forward its expertise to drive a fairer and more transparent Standard Essential Patent (SEP) licensing eco-system in Europe.
Landis+Gyr is the leading global provider of integrated energy management solutions. With more than 300 million installed devices, the company has the industry’s largest installed meter base and operates in over 30 countries. With their advanced metering infrastructure and other cutting-edge smart grid technologies, Landis+Gyr helps utility companies all over the globe improve their operations, protect their assets, lower their operating costs and provide better customer service.
“Landis+Gyr is proud to join the FSA, a diverse group of companies that share our belief that while patents are a positive force for innovation and differentiation in a globally competitive marketplace, Standards Essential Patents need to be handled with particular care. Standards have played an important role in many technological success stories over the past century, and the fair and transparent licensing of SEPs are a key part of this success,” said Colin S. Wright, Senior Intellectual Property Counsel at Landis+Gyr.
“We are delighted to welcome Landis+Gyr, one of the leading smart energy solutions companies worldwide, to our diverse membership. This addition strengthens our messages in the FRAND debate coinciding with the European Commission focus on SEPs policy recommendations targeting automotive, energy and medical devices sectors and its desire to create an environment to foster innovation in Europe and beyond,” said Robert Pocknell, FSA Chairman.
In addition to large patent holders, the FSA membership includes prominent product companies and consumer brands, as well as innovators who may license SEPs from others to then develop, market and sell standardised goods. “It’s important that all players in a technological value chain have access to license the SEPs for a standard,” Mr Wright stated.
About Landis+Gyr
Landis+Gyr is the leading global provider of integrated energy management solutions for the utility sector. Offering one of the broadest portfolios, we deliver innovative and flexible solutions to help utilities solve their complex challenges in smart metering, grid edge intelligence and smart infrastructure. With sales of USD 1.8 billion, Landis+Gyr employs approximately 5,600 people in over 30 countries across five continents, with the sole mission of helping the world manage energy better.
The company has received many awards in recognition of its contribution to the energy industry, including the Global AMI Company of the Year by Frost & Sullivan, the Global AMI Company of the Asian Utility Week Awards 2017 and Grid Edge 20: Companies Transforming the US Power Sector by Greentech Media.
More information is available at www.landisgyr.com
About the FSA
- The FSA is an alliance of European and global companies, large and small, that advocates for fairer licensing of standardized technology in the development and rollout of the Internet of Things (IoT).
- Our 46 members include SMEs, global and European companies such as Volkswagen, BMW, Deutsche Telekom, Harman, Intel, Cisco, Fairphone, AirTies and Nordic Semiconductor. The full list is available on the FSA website.
- The members of the FSA contribute to the EU economy by employing more than one million people in the EU alone.
- The FSA groups a number of the world’s largest innovators. It includes companies that spend billions of Euros annually on R&D, developing technologies, participating in standards development and licensing Standard Essential Patents to others.
- Annually, the aggregate turnover of the Alliance members is close to 2 trillion Euros, and on aggregate our members spend more than 100 Billion Euros on R&D and innovation and have more than 300,000 patents that are either granted or pending.
- The FSA wants to help build a balanced framework for the licensing of standard essential patents on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. These FRAND commitments accomplish two goals: firstly, implementers of a standard can feel secure that they can get licenses on fair and reasonable terms, and secondly, the SEP holders can receive appropriate remuneration for their patented inventions.