Intellectual property: EU Commission proposed new harmonized patent rules
The Commission has proposed new rules to help companies - especially small and medium-sized ones (SMEs) - leverage new technologies, make the most of their inventions and contribute to the EU's competitiveness and technological sovereignty.
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 GDPs and over 90% of all EU exports. In the period 2017–2019, nearly 76% of intra-EU trade was generated by patent-intensive industries.
In order to create a more transparent, effective and future-proof intellectual property rights framework, the Commission presented new regulations on standard essential patents, compulsory licensing of patents in crisis situations and the revision of the legislation on supplementary protection certificates. These new re