Technical standards and standard-setting organizations have been important features of the economic landscape, particularly in network industries, since standards ensure the compatibility between complementary products and services. Technical standards benefit industries and are substantially pro-competitive. However, standards can also have anticompetitive effects, while technical standards can thwart innovation or provide a forum for collusion. Furthermore, a patent owner increases his economic power in the marketplace when a patented technology is adopted as a standard. Therefore, the interface between patent rights and competition with regard to standards, the abuse of patent rights and access to essential patents which are indispensable in applying for standards have become controversial issues in recent years. This article contends that technical standards are not fundamentally incompatible with the competition law. Part Ⅰ and Part Ⅱ present the importance and the benefits of standards, as well as the pro- and anti-competitive effects of standards. Part Ⅲ reviews the patent policies of standard-setting organizations regarding access to essential patents and FRAND licensing terms, as well as the antitrust treatments of the abuse of patent rights, in particular the Essential Facilities Doctrine. In addition, in Part Ⅲ some important cases of standards are covered. Part Ⅳconcludes the thesis.