Research & Webinars
Here we provide a number of reports and research summaries related to SMEs and innovation. You will find additional materials in our main research section.
Papers, briefs and publications
Student insights
Summaries and key messages from 4iP Council research papers developed by European law students.
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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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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 competition law vis-à-vis the firms included in the standardization of the Digital Economy.
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Categories: Standardisation, IP and Competition Law, Digital Single Market
Finding the point of optimisation in patent systems
4iP Council interviews Manny Schecter, Chief Patent Counsel at IBM, a prolific user of the patent system. Manny has helped IBM build and protect a portfolio of over 50,000 patents worldwide. The iconic company has held first position on the annual US patent grant list for 24 years.
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Julian Nolan, pioneering data-driven invention
“It seemed strange to me that in such a data-driven world invention should be analogue, so I began to explore ways to create using data and algorithms.“
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Patent ambush: the commitment decision of the European Commission in the Rambus case
by Jurgita Randakeviciute, PhD Candidate at Vilnius University Faculty of Law, Lithuania
This paper analyses the issues that have risen while assessing patent ambush under Art. 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) in the Rambus case. It examines the concept of de jure standard-setting before the SSOs and discusses the notion of patent ambush in the process of standardisation as an infringement of the EU competition law.
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Categories: Standardisation, IP and Competition Law
Success of university inventions
by Michael Krause, PhD researcher at Technische Universität München, Germany
The study explores three questions on the success of patented university inventions in Germany. How successful are patented university inventions from a business perspective? How successful are patented university inventions from a societal perspective? What would be suitable measures to increase the success of patented university inventions?
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Categories: Patent System and Patent Quality, Licensing, Student Contribution
The role of intellectual property in the intelligence explosion
by Andrea Moriggi, LL.M. candidate, law of internet technology at Bocconi University, Italy
This article examines the future legal challenges of Intellectual Property related to Artificial Intelligence (AI), highlighting the role that AI can play in increasing the pace and scope of innovation to meteoric levels. While AI is making inroads into intellectual property by improving search and retrieval efficiency into IP offices it poses some threats from which existing laws leave us unprotected. The article argues that the IP legal framework needs to adapt to thorny issues of ownership and patenting in the AI era if delay in reaping the benefits of this new age is to be avoided.
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Categories: Patent System and Patent Quality, IP and Competition Law, Student Contribution
Patent Assertion Entities and Standard Essential Patents: Keep Calm and Carry On
by Igor Nikolic, PhD researcher in law at the University College, London
This article discusses positive and negative effects of PAEs’ patent assertions raised in literature and the assertion of standard essential patents by PAEs as well as the problematic surrounding patent privateering. The article aims to demonstrate that PAEs are not a unitary phenomenon, but adopt many different business models. It shows that it is incorrect to label all PAEs as “bad” and to devise rules that would be aimed at this one particular category of patent holders. It also shows that, in the SEP context, competition law is not an appropriate remedy and that PAEs do not have the ability to charge excessive royalties for SEPs.