This report provides a synthesis of the work of the expert group on patent aggregation. The expert group has been convened by the European Commission in 2013 to provide expert views on whether there is a need and an opportunity for EC intervention to foster the development of markets in patents and licences in particular through aggregation of patents, with a focus on patent pools and patent funds. If the answer is in the affirmative, the expert group was mandated to suggest what form such action should take. There are concerns that the valorisation of patents in Europe is not as effective as would be desirable. “Valorisation” refers to “the action of creating value from patents by capturing and extracting their latent economic potential through developing and commercialising the underlying technology.” Empirical evidence shows that relatively few patents are available for licensing or sale in the patent markets. This raises the question whether there is a case for promoting the market in patents and licences, in order to drive innovation in Europe and to increase returns to entities that are actively engaged in R&D. A special focus in this context is on small and medium sized enterprises and organisations that may not have the marketing and legal potential to fully exploit and enforce their patents. The report considers situations involving patents, technology and other intellectual property rights in some or all of the EU Member States. The conclusions reached will remain valid after the European Unitary Patent becomes available and is increasingly used, a welcome development that will lead to many advantages not discussed here. We are confident that the European Patent Office will continue to grant sound and high quality patents, and that this will continue to avoid or minimize the problems caused by questionable validity of patents that exist elsewhere. We have considered a number of issues for the purpose of promoting innovation and technological development in the European economy in general, as well as the distinct viewpoints of different interest groups – patent owners, users of patents, and SMEs. We have considered, and agree broadly with, the conclusions of several other recent European-level reports on related issues. We have considered the information available about patent-related funds in Europe and in Asia. We are aware that technology markets in Europe and elsewhere are changing fast and will continue to change, but though these changes may make our conclusions more important, we do not foresee any developments that would put those conclusions into question.

Report of the Expert Group on Patent Aggregation

Giuri P.
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
2015

Abstract

This report provides a synthesis of the work of the expert group on patent aggregation. The expert group has been convened by the European Commission in 2013 to provide expert views on whether there is a need and an opportunity for EC intervention to foster the development of markets in patents and licences in particular through aggregation of patents, with a focus on patent pools and patent funds. If the answer is in the affirmative, the expert group was mandated to suggest what form such action should take. There are concerns that the valorisation of patents in Europe is not as effective as would be desirable. “Valorisation” refers to “the action of creating value from patents by capturing and extracting their latent economic potential through developing and commercialising the underlying technology.” Empirical evidence shows that relatively few patents are available for licensing or sale in the patent markets. This raises the question whether there is a case for promoting the market in patents and licences, in order to drive innovation in Europe and to increase returns to entities that are actively engaged in R&D. A special focus in this context is on small and medium sized enterprises and organisations that may not have the marketing and legal potential to fully exploit and enforce their patents. The report considers situations involving patents, technology and other intellectual property rights in some or all of the EU Member States. The conclusions reached will remain valid after the European Unitary Patent becomes available and is increasingly used, a welcome development that will lead to many advantages not discussed here. We are confident that the European Patent Office will continue to grant sound and high quality patents, and that this will continue to avoid or minimize the problems caused by questionable validity of patents that exist elsewhere. We have considered a number of issues for the purpose of promoting innovation and technological development in the European economy in general, as well as the distinct viewpoints of different interest groups – patent owners, users of patents, and SMEs. We have considered, and agree broadly with, the conclusions of several other recent European-level reports on related issues. We have considered the information available about patent-related funds in Europe and in Asia. We are aware that technology markets in Europe and elsewhere are changing fast and will continue to change, but though these changes may make our conclusions more important, we do not foresee any developments that would put those conclusions into question.
2015
978-92-79-47107-0
Giuri P., Hirsch D., Szepanowska-Kozlowska K., Selhofer H., Temple Lang J. e Thumm N.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/696625
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