blog
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 Supporters of the proposed legislation say German patent law, rooted in the 19th century, is out of date.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.
Share
Other press coverage
IP2Innovate
SEP regulation: a step in the right direction
BRUSSELS, 28 April 2023 – IP2Innovate welcomes the European Commission’s proposal to reform the licensing of standard essential patents.
“This initiative should at least help level the playing field when standard essential patents licensing is involved,” said Patrick Oliver, executive director of IP2Innovate.
“The proposal isn’t as bold as it was a week ago, but it still has certain important reforms in place. Opponents of this reform have lobbied intensely for the Commission to abandon it. I hope that in an effort to compromise, the Commission hasn’t opened up loopholes that would undermine its effectiveness,” he added.
IP2Innovate welcomes the Commission’s effort to inject much needed transparency into SEP licensing, limiting the instances where patent owners could abuse the system.
In his press conference on 27 April, Commissioner Thierry Breton referred to how the current SEP system enables patent owners to extract excessive royalties.
“He is right. This happens not only with SEPs but also in the broader patent system too,” said Mr Oliver, adding: "We hope he is also right when he says this practise will become impossible in the areas of SEPs, and that he then turns his attention to fixing related problems that plague the broader patents system in Europe.”
IP2Innovate members collectively have thousands of European patents, including SEPs. They believe that patents play a vital role in the innovation process. But when the system is abused patents become an obstacle to innovation. And it’s not only happening with SEPs. Many patent assertion entities (PAEs) are in business to exploit the weaknesses in the system.
IP2Innovate was established in 2016 to combat patent abuse by these PAEs, often referred to as patent trolls. It has been pushing for courts to move away from granting automatic injunctions in patent disputes, and instead apply remedies that are proportionate, especially when highly complex products are involved.
WIPR
European courts failing over proportionality: IP2Innovate
Trade group IP2Innovate has warned that courts across Europe are failing to consider proportionality in patent cases, while urging the European Commission to promote similar reforms to those recently enacted in Germany.
WIPR
The UPC: time to get Europe’s house in order
Judges at the incoming court must consider the threat posed by patent assertion entities, comments Patrick Oliver of patent owners’ coalition IP2Innovate.