The standards setting process relies to an increasing degree on successfully integrating up-to-date research and development results. Successful interaction between research and standards can promote further innovation activity and provide important social benefits in general.

But, to do so, a number of challenges need to be faced. One key and persistent challenge is to provide the conditions in which the respective aims of formal standardssetting bodies and intellectual property rights can equitably be accommodated. This means balancing the collective gains to be reaped from the elaboration of a common standard against considerations to preserve the incentive of individual actors to innovate. This article focuses on approaches to the reemerging tension between intellectualproperty- rights and standards. It points to the importance that successful approaches can have to improve the interaction the between research and standardization activities. It then goes on to consider the (re)emergence of two approaches that are indicative of the changing relationship between intellectual property rights and standards-setting bodies.