4iP Council : Empirical research on European Intellectual Property Rights

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News

Dreams come true at the 2018 European Inventor Awards today

07 June 2018

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Latest report out now. Are PAEs a threat to Europe?

01 June 2018

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IoT and 5G slide set

01 June 2018

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SSH Communications Security becomes a 4iP Council supporter

30 May 2018

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4iP Council and University of Alicante joint seminar “Getting Ready for the Internet of Things”

29 May 2018

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Latest Research

Are PAEs a Threat to Europe?

by Igor Nikolic

Patent Assertion Entities are often negatively portrayed as harmful “patent trolls” that engage in speculative and abusive patent litigation against manufacturing companies. Although mass PAE litigation has mainly been US phenomenon, a recent study…

Are PAEs a Threat to Europe?

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Standardization for the Digital Economy: The Issue of Interoperability and Access Under Competition Law

by Björn Lundqvist

The article attempts to identify what legal systems are applicable when data is obtained from devices, sent to other devices, and/or distributed to the Cloud, and, ultimately, when it is reused. The article specifically focuses on the application of…

Standardization for the Digital Economy: The Issue of Interoperability and Access Under Competition Law

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Visit our research section for more winning papers

Latest on Patent Quality

Low Quality Patents in the Eye of the Beholder: Evidence from Multiple Examiners. Read more.

Patent Invalidation and legal certainty - What can patent holders expect? Read more.

Tweets by @4ipcouncil

Events

Features

Yann Ménière, Chief Economist, European Patent Office

Yann Ménière, Chief Economist at the European Patent Office, talks to 4iP Council about his role, patent trends, notably regarding inventions relating to autonomous objects, and the Unitary Patent.

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Features

An original financing solution for ‘not yet profitable’ SMEs investing in R&D

Neftys plays a crucial role in the innovation ecosystem. It offers start-ups and SMEs investing in R&D a form of bridging loan and, in so doing, solves an important headache for many innovators at a critical stage in the evolution of their business when heavy investment in R&D is yet to pay off.

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“Design-intensive companies generated 18% of the EU's GDP, and created 38.7 million jobs”

EPO, EUIPO, 2016
“38% of all employment in the EU (82 million jobs) stems from IPR-intensive industries”

EPO, EUIPO, 2016
“A patent is not any guarantee at all that the patented technology will gain such massive, traction on the market… simply, patents reward invention, not commercialisation.”

Dr. Sven Bostyn, Univerity of Liverpool & Prof. Nicolas Petit, Liege Competition and Innovation Institute (LCII), University of Liege, 2013
“The world is not lacking in ideas or entrepreneurs but they have little life and business experience. Business leaders need to provide complementary expertise and connections.”

Francois Cornelis, Essenscia Innovation Circle
“The various social functions of the patent system are endangered by the rise of … progressive and subtle enlargement of the two exceptions of compulsory licensing.”

Prof. Nicolas Petit, Liege Competition and Innovation Institute (LCII), University of Liege, 2014
“Society allocates exclusionary rights to patent holders for a simple, compelling reason. In exchange for the disclosure of his invention, the inventor receives the right to be the first to place the invention on the market, and to limit third parties’ ability to use his technology.”

Dr. Sven Bostyn, Univerity of Liverpool & Prof. Nicolas Petit, Liege Competition and Innovation Institute (LCII), University of Liege, 2013
“People often ask which of my inventions I prefer. My answer is, ‘on what criteria?’ Is it the one that was the most scientifically beautiful? The one that created the most jobs? The one that saved lives or the one that brought most financial return?”

Professor Jacques Lewiner, Chairman, ESPCI Georges Charpak Foundation
“It is nice for inventors to get recognition.
Every major invention today is teamwork. I would like to take the
opportunity to thank the big team in Erlangen, but as well everybody
else in the world who contributed, whose ideas went into mp3.”

Professor Karl Brandenburg, Director, Fraunhofer Institute
“Innovative entrepreneurs are central to the digital economy. To succeed they need increased access to finance including equity and venture capital.”

A Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe European Commission, 2015

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Research

4iP’s position is shaped by robust empirical research on policy proposals.

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Technology invention is an arduous and risky creative process that can result in life changing and global transformation. To incentivise investment in successful and potentially transformational technology solutions, and to reward risk, inventors must be able to seek reasonable return for their efforts. Intellectual Property Rights allow inventors to obtain such reward by creating the opportunity to commercialise their inventions. This is not only a fair way to acknowledge the contribution of the technology into the market, but also encourages continuous investment in further research, thus increasing innovation.