ATIS 3GPP Individual Members are bound by ATIS’ Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy (see section 10 of the ATIS Operating Procedures). ATIS 3GPP Individual Members should declare to ATIS any IPRs which they believe to be essential, or potentially essential, to any work being conducted within 3GPP. ATIS maintains a list of patent assurances.
ATIS 3GPP Individual Members also agree to be bound by the 3GPP Working Procedures that are in effect and as they may be amended from time to time.
Compliance with U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR)
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is responsible for implementing and enforcing the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), which regulate the export, re-export, transfer and release of certain items, including certain technology and software. The EAR prohibit the unlicensed export or transfer of items subject to the EAR to entities included on the EAR Entity List.
In September 2022, BIS published an interim final rule (IFR) to amend the EAR and permit the export or transfer of specified items without a license in the context of a “standards-related activity.” The IFR defines a “standards-related activity” to include “the development, adoption, or application of a standard (i.e., any document or other writing that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines, technical or other characteristics for products or related processes and production methods, with which compliance is not mandatory), including but not limited to conformity assessment procedures, with the intent that the resulting standard will be ‘published.’” The authorization provided by the IFR for the export or transfer of items in connection with standards-related activities applies to certain “technology” as well as “software,” as defined in the EAR, and applies to all entities on the EAR Entity List. Other EAR licensing requirements and export control regulations will continue to apply to non-standards-related activity, as defined, and to the transfer or export of items other than specified “technology” or “software.”
3GPP Individual Members are responsible for ensuring their compliance with all applicable export control regulations, including but not limited to the EAR. Individual Members with questions regarding the impact of the EAR or other export laws and regulations on your organization, including with respect to your participation in 3GPP, should be directed to your organizations’ legal counsels.