Making the most of the EU’s innovative potential. An intellectual property action plan to support the EU’s recovery and resilience

Summary:

Communication published by the European Commission on 25 November 2020, setting out an Action Plan aimed at reviewing the European Union's framework for intellectual property (IP).

Further information:

The Action Plan aims at enabling the European creative and innovation industry to remain a relevant global player and at supporting Europe's green and digital transitions. It sets out measures in the following areas:

• Improve the protection of Intellectual Property;
• Boost the uptake of IP by small and medium-sized companies (SMEs);
• Facilitate the sharing of IP;
• Fight counterfeiting and improve enforcement of IP rights;
• Promote a global level playing field.

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic also highlighted certain dependencies on critical innovation and technologies so the Action Plan addresses these challenges while making sure that critical IP can be made available in time of crisis.

The adoption of this Action Plan was first announced by the New EU Industrial Strategy from March 2020, where the need for the EU Intellectual Property policy to be upgraded was acknowledged. The Council of the European Union also invited the European Commission to present proposals for the future EU IP policy earlier in the month.

• Primary Source

• Alternative Source

News

EurActiv, 23/11/2020: Commission charts increased data sharing in leaked IP strategy https://www.euractiv.com/section/digital/news/eu-charts-increased-data-sharing-in-leaked-ip-strategy/

Reuters, 25/11/2020: EU eyes tougher measures against foreign industrial espionage https://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKKBN2851JS

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Official

European Commission: Policies: Intellectual Property https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/policy/intellectual-property_en

European Commission: Press Release, 25/11/2020: Commission adopts Action Plan on Intellectual Property to strengthen EU's economic resilience and recovery https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_2187

European Commission: Action Plan on Intellectual Property - Questions and Answers (25 November 2020) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_20_2188

European Commission: Speech by Executive Vice-President Vestager at the Press Conference on the Data Governance Act and the Action Plan on Intellectual Property (25 November 2020) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_20_2210

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