Intellectual property rights, and in particular Standard Essential Patents, play a key role in the design and development of telecoms radio equipment. As set out in the Diversification Strategy, in the context of 5G the commercial behaviour around both intellectual property rights and standard essential patents represents a potentially significant barrier to diversification. This was also noted by the Diversification Taskforce, which highlighted in its final report that the consolidation of intellectual property rights and standard essential patents among market leading suppliers has “the potential to serve as considerable barriers to diversification as technology suppliers staunchly protect their investment and designs”. The Government’s view is that appropriate measures need to be considered to reduce these potential barriers to new entrants and to ensure that revenue from intellectual property rights is fair for suppliers and users of intellectual property rights. With regard to standard essential patents, the Government’s view is that greater transparency in their essentiality and pricing could be beneficial for both licensees and licensors. The Government is considering options for monitoring the essentiality of patents. The Government is currently considering how to approach this complex issue, including in discussions with international partners and with industry.