Europe – Intellectual property: harmonised EU patent rules boost innovation, investment and competitiveness in the Single Market

Today, the Commission has proposed new rules to help companies, especially small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), make the most of their inventions, leverage new technologies and contribute to the EU’s competitiveness and technological sovereignty.

The proposed Regulations on standard essential patents, compulsory licensing of patents in crisis situations, and the revision of the legislation on supplementary protection certificates will create a more transparent, effective and futureproof intellectual property rights framework.

Intangible assets like brands, designs, patents and data are increasingly important in today’s knowledge economy. Intellectual property (IP) is a key driver for economic growth as it helps companies gain value from their intangible assets. IP-intensive industries account for almost half of all GDP and over 90% of all EU exports. In the period 2017–2019, nearly 76% of intra-EU trade was generated by patent-intensive industries…