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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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IP2Innovate
IP2I welcomes the European Parliament's formal request, adopted today, calling on the Commission to investigate the practices of patent assertion entities in Europe.
Brussels, 11 November 2021 – The European Parliament has instructed the European Commission to investigate in-depth how PAEs, also known as non-practising entities, or more colloquially patent trolls, game the European patent system.
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.