What Information Do You Need to Start an SEP Analysis?

You may be preparing a patent licensing proposal, reviewing a licensing request, or deciding whether to invest in a patent portfolio. Before the research begins, one practical question matters: what should you send to the analysis team?

You do not need a complete technical dossier to make an initial enquiry. Start with the patent details, the relevant standard, and the business decision you need to make. A clear brief helps the team define the scope and produce findings you can use.

This checklist explains what to prepare when requesting SEP analysis services, why each item matters, and what to do if some information is missing.

First, Explain What You Want the Analysis to Answer

“SEP analysis” can describe several types of work. You might need to identify potentially essential patents, assess selected claims, review existing claim charts, or compare portfolios.

For an SEP essentiality assessment, the central task is to examine whether implementing the relevant standard requires practising the invention covered by a patent claim. This involves detailed comparison rather than a simple match between technical keywords.

WIPO identifies claim charts mapping patent claims to specific standard provisions and versions as evidence used to assess contested essentiality.

Before commissioning the work, explain your immediate question. For example: “We need to review the essentiality evidence for five patents before responding to a licensing proposal.”

1. Patent Numbers and Available Documents

Provide the publication, application, or grant numbers for the patents you want reviewed. Include the country and any available copies of the documents.

If you are submitting a portfolio, a spreadsheet is useful. It can contain:

• Patent or application number.
• Country or jurisdiction.
• Patent owner.
• Current status, if known.
• Priority date, if available.
• Patents that need attention first.

Be clear about whether a number refers to a pending application or a granted patent. Claims may change during examination, so the team needs to know which document and claim set to assess.

If you do not have a patent list: explain the technology area, relevant standard, and purpose of the project. Identifying candidate patents may need to become the first stage.

2. The Claims You Want Assessed

If particular claims have been asserted or selected for licensing, identify them. Otherwise, ask the provider to help define which claims should be reviewed.

A patent may contain several claims with different requirements. Reviewing one claim does not automatically establish the position for every claim in that patent.

For a patent-to-standard mapping, the team needs to examine each limitation—the individual requirements within the claim—and look for supporting evidence.

Share amended claim sets or prosecution documents if you have them. These may help clarify the wording being assessed.

3. The Relevant Standard, Release, and Version

Provide the standard name and, where possible, the specification number, release, version, or publication date.

For example, “5G” describes a broad area. Identifying a particular 3GPP specification and release gives the researcher a much clearer starting point.

Also mention the technical feature involved, such as a communication procedure, coding method, or signalling function. This helps direct the review toward the relevant material.

If the exact specification is unknown: share the claim, technical description, or documents you already have. Locating the appropriate standard provisions can be included in the agreed scope.

4. Your Business Purpose

The same patents may need different levels of review depending on your objective.

Your objectiveInformation that helps define the workPrepare a licensing proposalSelected patents, relevant standards, and existing technical evidenceReview a licensing requestAsserted patents, supplied claim charts, and response timelineAssess a portfolio acquisitionPatent list, jurisdictions, transaction priorities, and review deadlinePrioritize a large portfolioTechnology areas, selection criteria, and budgetSupport a disputeSpecific contested mappings and questions identified by counsel

A focused objective helps the provider recommend an appropriate depth of analysis.

5. Existing Claim Charts and Previous Research

Share any SEP claim charts, standards references, declaration records, or earlier analysis already available.

Tell the team whether these documents were prepared internally or received from another party. Identify the points you want checked rather than asking for a general review.

Existing material can provide useful leads, but it should not be treated as proof without examination. ETSI states that it does not investigate the essentiality of notified intellectual property rights. A declaration therefore provides a starting point for research rather than an independent essentiality determination.

6. Relevant Countries and Patent Family Members

Specify which countries matter to your licensing, sales, investment, or dispute strategy.

Related patents may belong to the same family, but their claims can differ between jurisdictions. The scope should clarify whether the project examines one family representative or individual patents in several countries.

For SEP portfolio analysis, also discuss whether legal status checks are required. This helps keep essentiality findings connected to the patents relevant to your decision.

7. Product Information, When the Project Requires It

Product details are especially useful when you are reviewing a licensing assertion or asking how findings relate to your implementation.

Relevant information may include the product model, supported standards, enabled features, technical manuals, or available test results.

A technical essentiality assessment and a product infringement assessment answer different questions. Explain whether you need only claim-to-standard analysis or additional work concerning a particular product.

You do not need detailed product files for every SEP project. Their importance depends on the agreed objective.

8. Your Deadline and Preferred Report

Share the date by which you need the findings and identify any urgent patents. A staged review may be useful when a large portfolio cannot be examined in full before the first decision.

Also explain how you will use the report. Ask whether the deliverables will include:

• Claim-by-claim findings.

• Precise standard references and version details.

• Explanations of supported and unsupported mappings.

• Uncertainties requiring further review.

• A summary suitable for business decision makers.

Agreeing on the report format early makes the results easier to review and discuss.

What If Some Information Is Missing?

You can still make an enquiry. Begin with three essentials: the patents or technology area, the relevant standard, and your business objective.

Describe what you have and what remains unknown. The provider can then explain which additional information is necessary and whether an initial screening stage would help.

Before sharing confidential material, agree on an appropriate method for transferring it.

Prepare a Brief That Leads to Useful Answers

A useful SEP analysis brief connects the patents, standards, markets, and decision you need to make. It also makes the limits of the project clear. Essentiality analysis alone does not determine patent validity, product infringement, or a royalty rate.

When enquiring about SEP analysis services, send your available patent details, standards information, existing evidence, and deadline. That gives the team a practical starting point for recommending a focused assessment.