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The Wall Street Journal
A Push to End Germany’s Status as ‘Paradise for Patent Trolls’
A coalition of German blue-chip firms and foreign multinationals, including big U.S. tech firms, is advocating for legislation that would lessen the country’s appeal for those seeking to assert their intellectual property. Supporters of the proposed legislation say German patent law, rooted in the 19th century, is out of date. When Carl Benz received the patent for his car in 1886, “it was one patent for one product,” said Ludwig von Reiche, managing director for Nvidia in Germany and chair of the German Working Group of IP2Innovate.
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IP2Innovate
IP2Innovate's 2nd statement on the Commission's intention to withdraw the SEP Regulation: Ahead of European Parliament’s JURI Committee hearing with EVP Stéphane Séjourné
BRUSSELS, 22 April 2025 - IP2Innovate: SEP regulation essential for European businesses' innovation and cost reduction
Ahead of European Parliament’s JURI Committee hearing with Commission's Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné, IP2Innovate reiterates its strong opposition to the European Commission's intention to withdraw the SEP Regulation.
"Withdrawing the SEP Regulation now would be a grave mistake that undermines innovation, European competitiveness, and the EU legislative process itself," said Patrick Oliver, Executive Director of IP2Innovate. "The current SEP licensing environment is broken - unpredictable, fragmented, and inefficient - chilling innovation across sectors and eroding the competitiveness of entire European industries, who often face abuse by mostly non-EU entities. This situation places Europe’s supply chain security at risk and further limits the availability of innovative products and features and increases costs for European consumers."
"The Commission's claim of 'no foreseeable agreement' contradicts the facts. The European Parliament already adopted a position with overwhelming support, and the Polish Presidency has explicitly stated its readiness to resume work on the Regulation."
"Europe has become a venue where often foreign SEP holders litigate to exclude European companies from the market. The proposed Regulation brings essential transparency and fairness to a broken system."
"As we look to the future of standards, advancing - not abandoning - this Regulation is essential for Europe's technological competitiveness."
IP2Innovate
IP2Innovate welcomes latest changes to the UPC’s transparency rules
BRUSSELS, 12 July 2022 – IP2Innovate, a trade group pushing for a better functioning patent system in Europe, welcomes the transparency rules agreed last week by the Unified Patent Court which will ensure the Court’s decisions and orders are publicly available.
Managing IP
NPEs set sights on UPC and more patent acquisition - Blackbird, Dominion Harbor, Acacia, and Harfang IP say the market is hot for patent acquisitions and that litigation opportunities could soon emerge in Europe
Managing IP’s article outlining the views of Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs) on the Unified Patent Court (UPC) points out that several NPEs are gearing up for the launch of the UPC in the following months because the UPC’s centralised system “would make Europe a much easier place to litigate”. NPEs also argue that UPC would provide for another way to litigate in a “market comparable to China or the US”.
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