IP Europe statement on the outcome of the 24 January 2024 vote of the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI).

“The outcome of the JURI vote on the report threatens to undermine and diminish European technology leadership,” said IP Europe Managing Director Patrick McCutcheon.

“The weak support for the report (10 abstentions out of 23) is not surprising in light of the numerous concerns raised by MEPs, EU member states and other stakeholders. Accordingly, the full Parliament should now take the time necessary to consider the far-reaching implications of this file,” he said.  

The need for careful scrutiny is all the greater as, unusually, almost half (10 of 23) of the voting members of the JURI committee did not support the report. If approved in plenary, the committee’s report would make a fundamentally flawed European Commission proposal on standard-essential patents even worse.  

As the Council is giving the file considerably closer scrutiny and will not be ready for trilogue discussions for many months, there is no need to rush. We welcome the Council’s careful consideration of this file and insist that the Commission answer the Council’s 250 open questions.  

This is the opportunity for the Parliament to take its time, rather than rush this file to a vote. This is especially important as MEPs have tabled over 1,000 amendments and as there are vital European interests at stake. MEPs should take input from experts (such as EPO, ETSI and the UPC) and take into account responses to the questions posed by Council and review the implications in a hearing. 

For more information please see: https://ipeurope.org/the-european-commissions-sep-proposal-would-be-an-own-goal-for-europe/