Debate: An intellectual property action plan to support the EU’s recovery and resilience
Date: WEDNESDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2021
Speaker: Mariya Gabriel
Language: EN

As requested by Parliament, the Commission will step up efforts in the areas of SMEs and IP management. The Commission and the European Union Intellectual Property Office will launch a new European SME fund for the next three years – 2022 to 2024 – and this fund will offer more services such as the reimbursement of international trademark and national registration fees for patents.  On patents, the Commission is pleased with the strong support expressed by Parliament on the rolling—out of the Unitary Patent system, which is expected to start operating by the end of next year, 2022. The Commission will continue working on improving the European Patent framework.  First, the Commission agrees that the equitable distribution of vaccines around the globe is essential for effectively combating the spread of COVID—19 and that, to address supply chains, the way forward is to facilitate cross—border trade and support technology transfer based on the voluntary licensing of IP rights. The Commission also stands ready to take the necessary steps to ensure access to critical IP in times of crisis, including by facilitating the use of compulsory licensing in the absence of voluntary licenses.  Second, to correct the fragmentation issues identified by the European Parliament report as regards the need for a Unitary Supplementary Protection Certificate to be on par with the Unitary Patent, the Commission has announced a legislative initiative for next year. The Commission will analyse the most adequate institutional actors for the examination and granting.  Finally, as regards standard essential patents, the Commission welcomes the European Parliament’s call for enhancing transparency and fostering good faith licensing negotiations. The reform announced by the Commission will aim at addressing those issues. In the field of geographical indications, we take note of the call for simplification and not to overburden farmers with administration. In this regard, we aim to make the scheme more attractive and accessible to farmers across the Union and boost protection of geographical indications on the internet, in particular. For non—agricultural products or so—called craft and industrial products, the Commission welcomes Parliament’s support for the establishment of efficient and transparent European  Next year, we will also present proposals on designs to modernise design protection systems, to support the digital and green transitions and become more accessible and efficient, in particular for SMEs. One of our main objectives is to complete the single market for repair spare parts to the benefit of competition and lower prices for consumers.  Let me also reassure you that the fight against counterfeit goods, such as pharmaceutical and medical devices and toys, remains very high on the Commission’s agenda. Counterfeit goods not only have negative economic impacts on European economic growth, they also mislead consumers and puts their health and safety at risk and could be detrimental to the environment. Organised crime groups are also heavily involved in counterfeiting. The EU Toolbox against Counterfeiting is a unique opportunity for the EU to single out an overarching, effective policy for all relevant stakeholders and public authorities, to curb counterfeiting both online and offline. The toolbox will build on the existing and future horizontal European initiatives, in particular the Digital Services Act, the EU Strategy to tackle organised crime and the European customs action plan. It will also build on existing industry—led initiatives.  The European Parliament report highlights new challenges for IP policymaking, such as the use of artificial intelligence technologies in supporting the creation of new designs, medicines or vaccines. While we believe that the overall system is fit for these challenges, the Commission will continue to assess the issues presented by Parliament.  The Commission welcomes Parliament’s call for the transposition of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market without delay. The swift implementation of the new directive will benefit creative industries and citizens and ensure more fairness and clarity when copyrighted content is used online. So far, only a few Member States have communicated national transposition measures, and the Commission has opened infringement procedures.  The Commission also welcomes Parliament’s support for the review of the Database Directive. The Commission has announced a review alongside the upcoming Data Act. Through a targeted review of the Database Directive, the Commission wants to make sure that the directive will not pose an obstacle to data use and sharing, primarily by clarifying the status of machine—generated data.  So I’d like to thank you again for the thorough assessment of our IP action plan and the valuable and supportive comments you provided. We are looking forward to continuing our excellent collaboration with you on this ambitious agenda that we have set for the European IP framework.