WASHINGTON (April 24, 2023) — The Council for Innovation Promotion Board Co-Chairs David Kappos and Andrei Iancu, along with several other former U.S. officials, recently sent a letter to the European Commission to raise concerns about draft regulations that threaten U.S. and European innovation, and by extension, the global economy.
“If enacted, the proposed regulations would jeopardize the innovation ecosystems in Europe and the United States and permit global competitors to undermine American intellectual property rights,” said Andrei Iancu, C4IP board co-chair and former director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under President Trump.
The proposed regulations aim to create a competence center under the direction of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) — an organization without significant patent expertise — to manage royalty rate setting for patents deemed essential to industry technical standards. The proposal’s justification is based on speculation, and it would significantly delay both court processes and agreements to license standard essential patents. Read the full submission here.
“Standard-essential patent policies should be evidence-based and data-driven,” said David Kappos, C4IP board co-chair and former director of the USPTO under President Obama. “Instead, the draft proposal fails to consider the practical impact on economic and geopolitical realities.”
About Council for Innovation Promotion
The Council for Innovation Promotion is a bipartisan coalition dedicated to promoting strong and effective intellectual property rights that drive innovation, boost economic competitiveness, and improve lives everywhere.