Patent-holders on the back foot in battles with Almunia | European ...

Action needed to keep competition fair.

Is innovation under threat from the European Union's competition policy, or does Joaqu?n Almunia, the European commissioner for competition, deserve applause as the defender of consumers and the public interest? Almunia is taking action against some patent-holders where he sees an alleged abuse of rights. He justifies such action as essential to keep competition fair, but hi-tech industries, from makers of medicines to mobile phones, believe that EU innovation policy, whose future had brightened with the prospect of the unitary patent, is now threatened with a? few dark clouds.

Last week, Almunia cautioned Motorola Mobility to drop a patent-infringement case against Apple in Germany ? a re-run of a similar warning to Samsung over abuse of a dominant position. And by mid-June, the first ruling is expected from a series of anti-trust cases against innovative medicine manufacturers. The Commission's competition department has accused drugmakers of breaching anti-trust rules by reaching settlements with potential rivals that result in delays in the launch of generic copy products. The underlying contention is that companies should relinquish disputed patents, because the fact that they come under attack indicates they are weak or invalid.

Protecting innovation

Almunia says: ?Companies should spend their time innovating and competing on the merits of the products they offer ? not misusing their intellectual property rights to hold up competitors to the detriment of innovation and consumer choice.?

This differs from the view of the Commission's internal market department that ?capitalising on intellectual property rights portfolios is key for European creators and businesses? and of the Commission's enterprise department that ?intellectual property rights which cannot be enforced are meaningless?. Robin Jacob, a UK judge and senior adviser to the European Patent Office, told European Voice: ?The Commission's position is anti-innovator and pro-copyist.? He added: ?The competition lawyers just don't understand the way the patent system really works.?

Almunia accepts that ?the protection of intellectual property is a cornerstone of innovation and growth?. But, he goes on, ?so is competition?.

Concerns among innovative industries have been intensified by Almunia's planned update of the rules on licensing technology ? the consultation period ends tomorrow (17 May) ? in which his officials propose encouraging patent litigation so as to promote competition.

In this area of delicate balance between competition and the protection of innovation, an institutional turf war is breaking out over who should have the final say on the scope and validity of patents, bringing new uncertainties to Europe's intellectual property regime just as hopes were rising of a degree of coherence that would encourage innovation.

? 2013 European Voice. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/patent-holders-on-the-back-foot-in-battles-with-almunia/77248.aspx

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