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Financial Times
Apple, Microsoft and BMW urge EU to stop patent trolls.
Apple, Microsoft and BMW, together with a broad group of other tech companies and carmakers, have called on the EU to take action against so-called patent trolls, who buy up patents in the hope of making a profit through licences or lawsuits.
Other press coverage
IP2Innovate
IP2Innovate calls on the European Commission to strengthen EU law to ensure a balanced patent system and enhance Europe’s competitiveness
BRUSSELS, 25 March 2024 - IP2Innovate is calling for targeted amendments to EU intellectual property law to ensure that European patent courts consider the proportionality of remedies in their handling of patent litigation cases.
The proposed amendments will help create a more balanced patent system. This will spur innovation and, in turn, help to address Europe’s lagging competitiveness.
The 2004 EU IP Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED) requires that remedies for patent infringement be applied in a proportionate manner, but courts are handing out injunctions to patent owners in effect automatically, without considering the disproportionate impact that may result.
IP2Innovate
Multi-association letter to EVP Stéphane Séjourné on the IPRED modernisation
"We, the undersigned representatives of industry associations representing over 100 companies from various sectors (including automotive, information technology, semiconductors, software & services, AI, quantum technology, telecoms, communications and consumer goods), collectively holding more than 580.000 patents, and employing around 2,5 million people in the EU, urge the European Commission to take steps to modernise the 20-year-old Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED) in relation to proportionality of remedies for patent infringement, to ensure that the system is fit for purpose in the digital age and supports Europe’s competitiveness.
leconomiste.com
L’UE face au fléau des «chasseurs de brevets»
Some companies are worried about the spread of the patent troll phenomenon in Europe. Some have even sent a letter to Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Industry, calling for a “balanced approach to intellectual property and measures against non-practicing entities (NPE): legal person with no activity known as Patent Troll”.