China's Auto Guidelines Endorse "License-to-All" And SSPPU

China is becoming a new battlefield in global disputes over SEP licensing. On September 13, 2022, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) and China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) - two agencies subordinate to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council respectively-jointly published a set of guidelines called the Guidelines for Standard Essential Patent Licensing in the Automotive Industry (the "Guidelines"). The Guidelines, for the first time ever, endorses the "license to all" policy and the smallest saleable patent practicing unit (SSPPU) approach in China's automotive field.