blog
Wall Street Journal
Germany Shuts Door on Patent Trolls
Germany on Friday removed a legislative quirk that had made it a prime destination for globally active patent litigators who increasingly target fast-growing tech companies. Under the new legislation, courts examining a patent claim will conduct a proportionality check to decide whether an injunction would cause “undue hardship” to the alleged infringer or any third party. Ludwig von Reiche, IP2Innovate's board member told Wall Street Journal, that the law was an important step towards creating a better balance between patent and innovation protection. It remains to be seen how judges apply the new law, he added.
Share
Other press coverage
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.
IP2Innovate
IP2Innovate statement on the European Commission’s plans to propose a new regulation governing SEP licensing
BRUSSELS, 5 April 2023 – According to news reports last week the European Commission’s planned proposal for a Regulation on standard essential patents (SEPs) will tackle deep-rooted problems such as the lack of transparency and predictability in SEP licensing. IP2Innovate looks forward to reading the official proposal in the coming weeks.
Handelsblatt
Fight the patent rolls: Compromise on new law divides the economy
A change to the German #patent is likely to adopted this Friday, which for the first time considers the complexity of modern products in the digital age.