Projects per year
Personal profile
Quote
"Inventions are not yet innovations, and innovations do not automatically have an impact on society."
Research profile
Rudi Bekkers is a Full Professor and Chair of Standardisation and Intellectual Property at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). For over a hundred years, both standardization and intellectual property have been key mechanisms that shape technological progress, align technology development and adoption among stakeholders, and create winners and losers. They are likely going to become even much more important in the years to come, in our increasingly connected society. A society in which standalone technologies are going to be increasingly rare, and an era in which we place hope on technology to address grand societal challenges in fields such as energy, mobility, health, and wellbeing.
Rudi’s research interests include questions on how standards can help to create valuable and well-functioning markets, on the strategic behavior of companies and organizations using patents and standards, and how institutional settings could be improved in order to serve the public benefit. In addition to domains where standards traditionally play an important role (telecommunications, consumer electronics, internet), his interests also extends to new areas where standards become increasingly important, such as sustainable mobility, smart grids, and the Internet of Things.
Rudi combines work in both academia and industry. Since 2001, he has been associated with Dialogic, a Utrecht-based research firm with which he remains associated today. He has conducted over 50 commissioned studies in the field of innovation and policy and was key author of several large studies for the European Commission. Rudi serves on a number of advisory boards, including the IEEE-SA Europe Advisory Council, and the Forum Standardisatie, which advises the Dutch government on standardization questions. Enthusiastic about teaching, Rudi not only offers courses at his own department, but has also initiated a successful course sequence on standards and IPR for TU/e Bachelor students. Rudi is currently Chair of the Technology, Innovation and Society (TIS) group at TU/e.
Academic background
Rudi Bekkers (1969) received a BSc in Electrical Engineering in 1991, an MSc in Technology and Society in 1994, and a PhD on the development of mobile telecommunications standards in 2001. Since 2003, he worked at TU/e as Assistant professor and later as Associate Professor.
His academic papers have appeared in a wide range of highly respected, peer-reviewed journals such as California Management Review, Research Policy, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, and Telecommunications Policy, among others. One of his recent papers recently appeared at the US National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) . He also presented his work at high-level academic conferences, such as those of the International Schumpeter Society (ISS), DRUID, EMAEE, DIME, European Policy for Intellectual Property (EPIP) and the EPO/OECD IP Statistics for Decision Makers Conference (IPSDM), and regularly acts as invited speaker at conferences, workshops and other events in Europe, the US, and the Far East.
He has published in a wide range of journals, including Research Policy, Technovation, Industrial and Corporate Change, California Management Review, Telecommunications Policy, and his work is published by the NBER, among others. He has also presented at a range of conferences including the Academy of Management, DRUID, Schumpeter and EMAEE. In his research, he has cooperated with researchers at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa), EPFL (Lausanne), MIT Sloan School of Management, Boston Business School, and Hitotsubashi University (Tokyo), among others. In 2012, he was appointed as a Committee Member at the US National Academies of Science (NAS).
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Ph.D. on the standardization and development of mobile telecommunications standards , Eindhoven University of Technology
Award Date: 15 Jun 2001
M.Sc. Thesis, Eindhoven University of Technology
Award Date: 19 Dec 1994
B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering , Fontys University of Applied Sciences
Award Date: 1 Jun 1991
External positions
Senior researcher, Dialogic Innovatie en Interactie
1 Sep 2001 → …
Network
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HOLON SEMI AUTONOME ENERGIE SYSTEMEN VAN MMIP13
Alkemade, F., Wieczorek, A. J., Bekkers, R. N. A. & Kok, J. K.
1/01/22 → 28/02/23
Project: Research direct
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EPO ARP 2020/8402
Bottai, C., Raiteri, E. & Bekkers, R. N. A.
1/04/21 → 31/01/23
Project: Research direct
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NEON: New Energy Outlook for the Netherlands
Alkemade, F., Loomans, N., El Feiaz, A., van Druten, E., Rosero Abad, S., Maharjan, P., Alkema, L., Khaleghparast, S., Verbong, G. P. J., Bekkers, R. N. A., Kirkels, A. F., Shekhar, S., Leferink, T. & Klok, W.
1/11/20 → 31/10/24
Project: Research direct
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Pervasive standards and their impact on the standardization ecosystem and society
Bekkers, R. N. A., Wiegmann, P. M., Wiegmann, P. M. & Lazaj, E.
1/09/20 → 31/08/24
Project: Research direct
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Overcoming inefficiencies in patent licensing: A method to assess patent essentiality for technical standards
Bekkers, R. N. A., Tur, E. M., Henkel, J., van der Vorst, T., Driesse, M. & Contreras, J., 19 Jul 2022, In: Research Policy. 51, 10, 13 p., 104590.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)44 Downloads (Pure) -
The impact of including standards-related documentation in patent prior art: evidence from an EPO policy change
Bekkers, R. N. A., Martinelli, A. & Tamagni, F., 1 Sep 2020, In: Research Policy. 49, 7, 17 p., 104007.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile4 Citations (Scopus)126 Downloads (Pure) -
Disclosure rules and declared essential patents
Bekkers, R., Catalini, C., Martinelli, A., Righi, C. & Simcoe, T., Jan 2023, In: Research Policy. 52, 1, 14 p., 104618.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile19 Downloads (Pure) -
Innovation, technology development and transfer
Blanco, G., de Coninck, H. C., Agbemabiese, L., Diagne, E. H. M., Anadon, L. D., Lim, Y. S., Pengue, W. A., Sagar, A., Sugiyama, T., Tanaka, K., Verdolini, E., Witajewski-Baltvilks, J., Reis, L. A., Babiker, M., Bai, X., Bekkers, R. N. A., Bertoldi, P., Burch, S., Cabeza, L. F., Caiafa, C., & 27 others , 2022, IPCC, 2022: Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Shukla, P. R., Skea, J., Al Khourdajie, A., van Diemen, R., McCollum, D., Pathak, M., Some, S., Vyas, P., Fradera, R., Belkacemi, M., Hasija, A., Lisboa, G., Luz, S. & Malley, J. (eds.). Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, p. 2674-2814 141 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile91 Downloads (Pure) -
Mobility in the smart grid: roaming protocols for EV charging
van der Kam, M. & Bekkers, R., Jan 2023, In: IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid. 14, 1, p. 810-822 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Downloads (Pure)
Datasets
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Disclosed Standard Essential Patents (dSEP) Database
Bekkers, R. N. A. (Creator), Catalini, C. (Creator), Martinelli, A. (Creator), Simcoe, T. (Creator) & Righi, C. (Creator), Published by the creators of the dataset, 1 Feb 2016
Dataset
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European Commission (External organisation)
Rudi N.A. Bekkers (Chair)
Jan 2023 → Dec 2025Activity: Membership types › Membership of council › Professional
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A response to the new EC communication on standardisation COM(2022) 31
Rudi N.A. Bekkers (Speaker)
29 Jun 2022Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk › Scientific
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Recent developments in Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) and FRAND
Rudi N.A. Bekkers (Speaker)
14 Dec 2021Activity: Talk or presentation types › Keynote talk › Professional
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(ir)rationaliteit van beslissingen over de adoptie van internetstandaarden.
Rudi N.A. Bekkers (Speaker)
9 Dec 2021Activity: Talk or presentation types › Keynote talk › Professional
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The European Commissions's Commission’s upcoming legislative and non-legislative proposals regarding FRAND policies
Rudi N.A. Bekkers (Speaker)
17 Nov 2021Activity: Talk or presentation types › Keynote talk › Professional
Courses
Press / Media
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Europese Unie - Alles over hoe de EU werkt en de macht en onmacht van Nederland
1/09/21
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Eindhoven is een koploper op het gebied van innovatie, met dank aan de typisch Nederlandse cultuur van samenwerken
27/12/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Nokia, bestaat dat nog? Ja, juist! Dankzij patenten.
10/12/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Patentenoorlog in Europa: China claimt recordaantal uitvindingen
12/03/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Creating the engineer of 2020: Innovation at Eindhoven University of Technology
Rudi N.A. Bekkers & Gunter Bombaerts
27/10/17 → 28/10/17
2 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
Thesis
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Datacommunicatie over landmobiele netwerken : een strategische studie naar netwerken voor draadloos datatransport in Nederland
Author: Bekkers, R. N. A., 30 Nov 1999Supervisor: Smits, J. M. (Supervisor 1)
Student thesis: Master