Statement by IP2Innovate in reaction to Commissioner Breton’s comments about the European patent system

“IP2Innovate welcomes Commissioner Breton’s comments today and we support his call for a balanced and effective European IP system,” said Patrick Oliver, Executive Director of IP2Innovate.

“We also share his view that Europe’s patent framework needs to be adapted to better suit the challenges of the digital age, and we share his goal of a single European patent. The UPC has the potential to raise the quality and efficiency of the European patent system if implemented well. However, we would urge that the system is adapted first, otherwise the existing imbalances in the European patent system risk being amplified to the detriment of European innovators,” Mr Oliver said.

IP2Innovate, along with 35 companies and other industry groups wrote to Commissioner Breton in February expressing their concerns about the growing impact of patent Assertion Entities, or patent trolls on Europe’s patent system.

They urged the European Commission to draft a set of guidelines to address imbalances in the patent system – in particular guidelines that support the application of a proportionality requirement in patent enforcement by judges around Europe, as required under the 2004 EU IP Enforcement directive (IPRED).

IP2Innovate is hosting an online conference on the topic of patent trolls on June 9th. The event will showcase a new academic study. Speakers include senior European Commission staff, top IP executives from industry and legal experts. The event is open to all: http://patents4digital.ip2innovate.eu 

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Commissioner Breton’s comments on the patent system start at 09.13 am: https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/fr/juri-committee-meeting_20200525-0900-COMMITTEE-JURI_vd