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Patrick Oliver
Statement in response to publication of the European Commission’s IP Action Plan
IP2Innovate welcomes the European Commission’s efforts to improve the IP landscape in Europe, in particular the emphasis on ensuring that the proportionality requirement in the granting of injunctions is met. However, the IP Action Plan outlined today needs to go further to address continuing abuses of the patent system.
“Other than yet more monitoring, the Commission has proposed no new action to address our concerns about the failure of courts to consistently apply the proportionality requirement in patent infringement claims across Member States,” said Patrick Oliver, Executive Director of IP2Innovate. That failure has fuelled a rise in litigation by non-practising entities—otherwise known as patent trolls—that hurts innovation in Europe.
“Monitoring is not enough. The Commission needs to provide Member States with clearer guidance on how to apply the proportionality requirement set out in EU law,” said Mr Oliver. This issue is key in light of the IP Action Plan’s push to launch the Unified Patent Court.
“Threats of automatic injunctions in just one Member State are bad enough, but under the UPC firms face the threat of Europe-wide injunctions,” Mr Oliver said.
“Ensuring that the proportionality requirement is consistently applied is essential to innovation in Europe and we stand ready to work with the Commission and stakeholders to make this happen. Failure to do so encourages patent holders in a negotiation over a disputed infringement claim to make disproportionate demands based on the damage that would result from an injunction rather than the value contributed by the patent. This is especially so if the infringement and any challenge over the patent’s validity are dealt with separately. No one wants to see consumers paying higher prices, or legitimate European firms—both big and small—diverting resources away from research and product development as a result of a bogus patent claim,” Mr Oliver said.
“Other than yet more monitoring, the Commission has proposed no new action to address our concerns about the failure of courts to consistently apply the proportionality requirement in patent infringement claims across Member States,” said Patrick Oliver, Executive Director of IP2Innovate. That failure has fuelled a rise in litigation by non-practising entities—otherwise known as patent trolls—that hurts innovation in Europe.
“Monitoring is not enough. The Commission needs to provide Member States with clearer guidance on how to apply the proportionality requirement set out in EU law,” said Mr Oliver. This issue is key in light of the IP Action Plan’s push to launch the Unified Patent Court.
“Threats of automatic injunctions in just one Member State are bad enough, but under the UPC firms face the threat of Europe-wide injunctions,” Mr Oliver said.
“Ensuring that the proportionality requirement is consistently applied is essential to innovation in Europe and we stand ready to work with the Commission and stakeholders to make this happen. Failure to do so encourages patent holders in a negotiation over a disputed infringement claim to make disproportionate demands based on the damage that would result from an injunction rather than the value contributed by the patent. This is especially so if the infringement and any challenge over the patent’s validity are dealt with separately. No one wants to see consumers paying higher prices, or legitimate European firms—both big and small—diverting resources away from research and product development as a result of a bogus patent claim,” Mr Oliver said.
For further information, please contact:
Patrick Oliver
IP2Innovate
Executive Director
Email: contact@ip2innovate.eu
Mobile: +32-477-597065
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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.
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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.
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