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11 March 2020PatentsEdward Pearcey

EU’s IP action plan welcomed as a path to ‘technological sovereignty’

Plans unveiled by the European Commission to protect the EU’s technological “sovereignty” have been welcomed by research and development organisations.

A commission document, “ A new industrial strategy for a globally competitive, green and digital Europe”, sets out some of the “key drivers of Europe's industrial transformation”, including the creation of an “IP Action Plan”.

The IP plan, said the commission, should “uphold technological sovereignty, promote a global level playing field, better fight IP theft, and adapt the legal framework to the green and digital transitions”.

“IP helps to determine the market value and competitiveness of Europe’s firms,”  it said, highlighting “intangibles” such as brands, designs, patents, data, know-how, and algorithms.

The plan added: “Smart IP policies are essential to help all companies to grow, create jobs and to protect and develop what makes them unique and competitive.”

IP Europe, a coalition of research and development-intensive organisations headquartered in Europe, welcomed the plan and called for ongoing investments to help protect technological “sovereignty” in the coming years.

“For Europe to retain technological and digital sovereignty for its critical digital infrastructure such as 5G, continued investments by European industries in the development of such technologies are a must,” said Francisco Mingorance, executive secretary of IP Europe.

Ruben Bonet, IP Europe’s small and medium-sized enterprises chair, called for the plan to be evidence-based. Its success, he added, will be measured by “its ability to incentivise European industries, through fair return on investment, to continue the development of technologies upon which Europe’s technological sovereignty depends”.

“We welcome the EU pilot on valuation of high-tech start-ups on the basis of their technology and IP portfolio, and will support any initiative that will help innovative businesses develop IP-led growth strategies,” Bonet added.

The Commission’s industrial strategy is built around three priorities: maintaining European industry's global competitiveness and a level playing field, at home and globally; making Europe climate-neutral by 2050; and “shaping” Europe's digital future.

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