IP2Innovate submits feedback to the European Commission Consultation on the Single Market Strategy 2025

IP2Innovate

With Austria signed up, the Unified Patent Court agreement has now been ratified by the required 13 member countries. The dream of forging one single patent jurisdiction for Europe is on course to become a reality, after decades of uncertainty.

IP2Innovate

A new academic study by economists at the universities of Bordeaux, Grenoble, and Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona) highlights how patent assertion entities (PAEs) are continuing to take advantage of weaknesses in Europe’s patent system. The study, entitled Patent Privateering, looks at one specific method of patent abuse. Patent privateering is a term to describe a situation where a patent owner hands patents to a patent assertion entity (PAE) to exploit for mutual benefit, allowing the patent owner to maintain a secret stake in the patents. The study concluded that patent privateering is widespread in Europe. The practise has been around for many years but as other jurisdictions including the US have made it harder, Europe’s patent system is a ripe target for abuse. This is largely because patent courts in Europe do not apply the principle of proportionality, and instead hand out injunctions to patent owners almost automatically.

IP2Innovate

IP2Innovate has responded to the Commission's call for evidence on the upcoming European Innovation Act, highlighting that proportionality in patent remedies across the EU is needed to support the European Innovation Act’s goals of creating innovation-friendly regulation and eliminating Single Market fragmentation. IP2Innovate welcomes the objectives of the upcoming European Innovation Act. A balanced patent system is an important prerequisite to ensure Europe’s global competitiveness in critical technology areas, its attractiveness for companies to invest and do business in, and to increase innovation and the take up of new technologies necessary to bridge the gap in productivity levels when compared to other major economies. Unfortunately, our member companies' experiences, supported by data, indicate that Europe's patent system currently lacks the necessary balance, undermining investment in innovation to the detriment of both the public and Europe’s competitiveness. The current practice by EU courts of granting automatic injunctions in patent infringement cases contradicts the European Innovation Act’s goals of creating innovation-friendly regulation and eliminating Single Market fragmentation. The solution is to modernize the 20-year-old IPR Enforcement Directive to align with Innovation Act objectives and to help close the innovation gap between Europe and its global competitors. Read our submission here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14593-European-Innovation-Act/F33069711_en