IPR & Patents
Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are legal rights granted to protect creations of the intellect. These rights enable individuals and companies to receive recognition or financial benefit from their inventions and creations and prevent unauthorized use by others.
IPRs are broadly divided into two main categories:
- Industrial Property Rights: This includes patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models, and geographical indications.
- Copyright and Related Rights: This covers literary, artistic, and creative works, such as books, films, music, paintings, and software.
| Type of Creation | Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) |
|---|---|
| literary, artistic and scientific works | Copyright |
| performances of performing artists, phonogram recordings by producers, and rights of broadcasters over radio and TV programmes | related rights or neighbouring rights |
| inventions | patents and utility models |
| product appearance | design |
| signs – words, phrases, symbols or designs (or a combination of these) which are used as brands of goods and services | trademark |
Intellectual property rights play an important role in promoting innovation and protecting investment, in particular in the digital and green economy. That is why the European Commission works to harmonise and enhance laws relating to intellectual property rights in the EU, and to ensure that a level playing field is available at global level.
An intellectual property action plan for the EU
In November 2020, the Commission adopted the Communication ‘Making the most of the EU’s innovative potential – An intellectual property action plan to support the EU’s recovery and resilience’. The action plan presents proposals for specific measures in five key areas
- Improve the way IP rights are protected by
- supporting a rapid roll out of the unitary patent system
- optimising supplementary protection certificates
- upgrading the design protection system
- strengthening protection for geographical indications (GIs)
- improving the system for protection of plant varieties
- promoting the use of new technologies (such as blockchain and artificial intelligence)
- Boost the uptake and use of IP especially by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
- Facilitate licensing and sharing of IP by
- ensuring the availability of critical IP in times of crisis
- supporting the development of high-quality ‘copyright infrastructure’
- improving transparency and predictability in Standard Essential Patent licensing
- promoting data access and sharing by clarifying the Trade Secrets Directive and revising the Database Directive
- Ensure better enforcement and fight IP infringements by
- clarifying responsibilities of online platforms in the Digital Services Act
- launching an EU Toolbox against counterfeiting
- strengthening the role of the European Anti Fraud Office (OLAF) and other authorities in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy
This action plan builds on and enhances the ‘IP package’ of 2017, that included the Communication ‘A balanced IP enforcement system responding to today’s societal challenges’. See the press release on the 2017 IP package for more information.
Patents
Anybody can apply for a patent. It gives the owner the right to prevent others from making, using or selling the invention without permission. Patents encourage companies to make the necessary investment for innovation and provide the incentive for individuals and companies to devote resources to research and development. Patents also imply the disclosure of the protected invention. This fosters the dissemination of innovation.
Currently, (technical) inventions can be protected in Europe either by national patents, granted by the competent national IP authorities in EU countries or by European patents granted centrally by the European Patent Office
The Unitary Patent System
The unitary patent is a legal title that provides uniform protection across all participating EU member countries on a one-stop-shop basis, providing huge cost advantages and reducing administrative burden. The new Unified Patent Court offers a single, specialised patent jurisdiction, which now enables centralised litigation for the participating EU member countries.
Standard Essential Patents
Standardisation based on patent-protected technologies is a key contributor to industrial innovation and competitiveness. The European Commission supports the improvement of the framework governing the inclusion of patent-protected technologies into standards and the facilitation of the licensing process for these technologies.
What the Commission is doing
To ensure that Europe is well positioned in today’s competitive global environment, the Commission supports a smooth and balanced functioning of the system for standards that comprise patent-protected technologies. A Regulation establishing a framework protection for transparent licensing of Standard Essential Patents
On 27 April 2023, the Commission proposed a new framework for Standard Essential Patents (SEP), including
European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA)
EFTA IPR Policy – Overview
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA, follows a set of consistent principles on intellectual property rights within its Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and cooperation frameworks. While EFTA does not have a single standalone “IPR Policy” document, its approach is reflected across its FTAs, model chapters, and negotiating practices.
European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
ETSI IPR POLICY
Standards rely on technical contributions from various sources. These contributions may contain patented technologies which are commonly known as Standard Essential Patents (SEP). When it is not possible on technical grounds to make or operate equipment or methods which comply with a standard without infringing a SEP, i.e. without using technologies that are covered by one or more patents, we describe that patent as ‘essential’.
The ETSI IPR Policy which is part of the ETSI Directives seeks to reduce the risk that our standards-making efforts might be wasted if SEPs are unavailable under Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) terms and conditions.
The main objective of the ETSI IPR Policy is to balance the rights and interests of IPR holders to be fairly and adequately rewarded for the use of their SEPs in the implementation of ETSI standards and the need for implementers to get access to the technology defined in ETSI standards under FRAND terms and conditions.
The ETSI Directives also contain an IPR Guide which is intended to help ETSI members and any other party involved in ETSI’s standardization activities to understand and implement the ETSI IPR Policy. This IPR Guide provides information on how to handle IPR matters in ETSI and does not replace the ETSI IPR Policy which takes precedence in all cases.
European Committee for Standardization (CEN)
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC)
In order to preserve the universal approach of standards, while also respecting the rights of the patent holders, CEN and CENELEC have developed an intellectual property rights (IPR) policy under the provision of the CEN-CENELEC Guide 8 “Standardisation and intellectual property rights (IPR)”.
The purpose of the CEN-CENELEC Guide 8, which is in line with the relevant guides of ISO and IEC, is to provide practical guidance to the participants in technical bodies on how to deal with patent-related matters.
In brief, the CEN and CENELEC Patent Policy encourages the early disclosure and identification of patents that may relate to standards under development. In doing so, we aim to encourage greater efficiency in standards development while avoiding possible and potential patent-related problems.
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