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L’Europe menacée par les «chasseurs de brevets»?
Patent trolls irritates European companies who fear that these companies will develop under new Community rules.
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IP2Innovate
IP2Innovate calls on the European Commission to strengthen EU law to ensure a balanced patent system and enhance Europe’s competitiveness
BRUSSELS, 25 March 2024 - IP2Innovate is calling for targeted amendments to EU intellectual property law to ensure that European patent courts consider the proportionality of remedies in their handling of patent litigation cases.
The proposed amendments will help create a more balanced patent system. This will spur innovation and, in turn, help to address Europe’s lagging competitiveness.
The 2004 EU IP Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED) requires that remedies for patent infringement be applied in a proportionate manner, but courts are handing out injunctions to patent owners in effect automatically, without considering the disproportionate impact that may result.
Patrick Oliver
Patent law reform strengthens Germany as a location for innovation; Europe needs to follow suit to enhance its competitiveness
Berlin, June 11th 2021 - The Bundestag today adopted legislation to modernise German patent law. The changes are an important step towards creating a better balance between patent protection and innovation protection. European patent law needs to follow Germany’s lead.
IP2Innovate welcomes the call by CDU/CSU to introduce a proportionality test in the German Patent Act to better protect innovators against patent trolls
In a recent the German Conservatives (CDU/CSU) Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker and Ingmar Jung express concerns over abusive litigation practices by patent trolls, which distort the market and undermine Germany’s attractiveness as a business location. They note that in light of the high complexity of modern products, companies can no longer completely rule out the possibility of patent infringements. In this context, an unlimited right to injunctive relief create unwarranted leverage for patent trolls who buy up patents only to assert them against companies and extract disproportionately high settlements. Solutions proposed by CDU/CSU are the introduction of a proportionality test in the German Patent Act as well as a synchronisation of infringement and nullity proceedings.