Dear MEPs,

IP Europe comprises Ericsson, Nokia, Orange, Fractus, Fraunhofer, Philips, Sisvel, Dolby,  InterDigital, Panasonic, and Qualcomm. We are a coalition of global technology leaders and research institutes promoting a strong European innovation ecosystem. 

IP Europe supports the European Commission’s stated objectives of greater transparency, balance and efficiency in the licensing of standard-essential patents in order to continuously improve the system and to incentivise European firms to participate in standardisation. 

However, the proposal as amended by the JURI Committee will not achieve those objectives and is deeply flawed. If adopted:

• it will increase costs and administrative burdens to EU innovators, including SMEs;
• it will cause delays, uncertainties, and complexities in licensing negotiations; and
• it will violate fundamental rights, notably the right to property (including intellectual property), access to justice, and EU law generally.

The proposal is also disproportionate and not backed by evidence showing the need for regulatory intervention.

The effects of the proposal will be detrimental to European technological leadership and global competitiveness: 

• it will reduce incentives to invest in the European development of new technologies and open standards;
• it will reduce European leadership in open standards and increase Europe’s dependence on technologies developed elsewhere; and
• it will lead to more proprietary solutions that lock in end users to closed platforms. 

Given the expedited nature of the procedure at the European Parliament, IP Europe believes there is no other choice at this stage but to vote against the report. 

Sincerely,
IP Europe