Activities of Patrick BREYER related to 2021/2007(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on an intellectual property action plan to support the EU’s recovery and resilience
Amendments (36)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation -1 (new)
Citation -1 (new)
– having regard to the Commission communication of 25 November 2020 on a Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe,
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation -1 a (new)
Citation -1 a (new)
– having regard to the Commission communication of 10 February 2020 on a European Strategy for Data,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 10 July 2020 on the EU’s public health strategy post-COVID-19 (2020/2691(RSP)),
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 b (new)
Citation 3 b (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 10 June 2021 on meeting the global COVID-19 challenge: effects of the waiver of the WTO TRIPS Agreement on COVID-19 vaccines, treatment, equipment and increasing production and manufacturing capacity in developing countries (2021/2692(RSP)),
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4
Citation 4
– having regard to the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, in particular Article 17 paragraph 2 thereof,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 b (new)
Citation 6 b (new)
– having regard to Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market,
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas stronga balanced protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR), which play a huge role inare essential to the European economy, are essentials well as to EU’s recovery and resilience;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas knowledge-intensive industries are source of growth and prosperity; whereas between 2012 and 2016 they generated almost 30 % of all jobs and almost 45 % of total economic activity (GDP) in the EU, as shown in the 2019 industry-level analysis report by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)8 ; _________________ 8 EPO-EUIPO, IPR-intensive industries and economic performances in the EU: Industry-level analysis report, third edition, September 2019.
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Supports the Commission in pursuing the aimplementations of its intellectual property action plan of November 2020, as strong, robust and balanced IPR protection at national, European and international level, which enables the green and digital transition, as well as return on investment, is particularly important for the social and economic recovery and resilience from COVID-19 as well as for the creation of a digital and globally competitive sustainable economy in Europe;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that the preparation for the next global crisis urges decision and policy making to bring solutions allowing long-term resilience in society, in particular to design an industrial ecosystem in the IP sector where the balance between the different interests at stake is duly considered in the light of the circumstances, in order for the EU to be able to respond to crisis in an agile way;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Recalls that the Regulation establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility calls for investments in digital technologies to respect the principles of interoperability, energy efficiency and personal data protection, allow for the participation of SMEs and start-ups, and promote the use of open-source solutions; is of the opinion that the whole IP system should be directed in this objective;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2
Subheading 2
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights that IPRs have many benefits for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), since SMEs that own IPRs have 68 % higher revenue per employee compared to; is therefore concerned that many SMEs that do not; is therefore concerve difficulties to determined that only approximeir own IP stratelgy 9 % of SMEs ownand to manage their IPRs; welcomes, therefore, the IP vouchers, the IP-Scan and other initiatives of the Commission and the EUIPO to help SMEs make the most of their intellectual property (IP) assets;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Supports the voluntary pooling and licensing of IP, as well as all legal incentives enabling innovative R&D projects, in terms of allowing maximum sharing of critical IP-related knowledge and data to incentivise the rapid pooling of IPR in times of crisis; reiterates the call from the Parliament in its resolution of 10 June 2021 to revisit the global framework for IPRs for future pandemics, and to support for proactive, constructive and text-based negotiations for a temporary waiver of the WTO TRIPS Agreement, aiming to enhance global access to affordable COVID-19-related medical products and to address global production constraints and supply shortages;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Stresses the importance to remove all unnecessary barriers, especially in the case of health crisis, to enable researchers to find scientific solutions under exceptional time and efficiency constraints; highlights in this respect the central role of limitations and exceptions to exclusive rights, notably text and data mining, to further unlock research and public contribution towards European dynamic innovation and robust data spaces;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Emphasises the need for a high degree of transparency for public funding and investments on IP driven innovation, especially in the pharmaceutical sector, notably in the aim to reinforce the public trust in science, therefore contributing to EU’s recovery and resilience;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Welcomes the Commission’s announcement to facilitate data access and use, while safeguarding legitimate interests, via clarification of certain key provisions of the Trade Secrets Directive and a review of the Database Directive;
Amendment 56 #
4. Stresses that the Unitary Patent package (UPP), which includes the European patent with unitary effect (unitary patent) and the Unified Patent Court (UPC), willis meant to make patent protection and dispute settlement across Europe less complex, less costly and more efficient; asks the participating Member States which have not yet done so, therefore, to conclude the ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA), as well as the Protocol to the UPCA on provisional application (PPA), as soon as possible, or by other means to declare that they are bound to the PPA in order to allow for a rapid entry into operation of the UPP;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the one-stop-shop alternative dispute resolution system to be established under Article 35 of the UPCA; asks the Member States to enable the quick roll-out of the patent arbitration and mediation centre with the concern to allow the parties to still have contact points in their country of residence so that their right for access to justice is not undermined, and calls on the Commission to assess whether the centre could, in the long term, deal with all IP disputes;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Acknowledges that the UPP does not provide for a unitary SPC title and calls on the Member States to support the establishment of such a title as a logical extension of unitary patent protection;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Prompts the Commission to proceed to an early evaluation of Regulation (EU) 2019/933 concerning the supplementary protection certificate (SPC) for medicinal products, so that the effectiveness of the SPC waiver can be reviewed in the light of the recent exceptional circumstances, and in the light of the aim to restore a global level playing field for makers of generics and biosimilars in the Union; such evaluation should also study the impact of the exception of SPC protection on research and production of innovative medicines in the Union by certificate holders and consider the balance between the different interests at stake, in particular as regards public health, public expenditure and, in this context, access to medicines within the Union;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Acknowledges the importance of a balanced licensing system for SEPs and insists on the importance of stable, efficient and fair rules in that regard; underlines that ‘fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms’ (FRAND) are vague legal terms that include legal uncertainty and calls on the Commission to monitor industry developments and provide more clarity on various aspects of FRAND, including through designating an observatory (a competence centre) to that effect, and to publish annual reports evidencing actual cases of non-compliance with FRAND and so- called patent ‘hold-up’ and patent ‘hold- out’;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Supports the Commission in its initiative to establishconsider the feasibility of establishing an efficient and transparent EU sui generis protection of geographical indications (GIs) for non-agricultural products, on the basis of a thorough impact assessment of its potential costs and benefits, in order to align to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications, which includes the possibility to protect GIs for both agricultural and non-agricultural products;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Takes note that some Member States have already established national sui generis protection systems for GIs for non- agricultural products, creating fragmentation, and that protection at Union level would bring the necessary legal certainty to all players, so that the EU can strengthen its interests at international level;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the Commission’s willingness to revmodernise Union legislation on design protection to better support the transition to the digital and green economy and calls on the Commission to update the registration procedure to allow for new forms of design to be protected in an easy and less burdensome way;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 8
Subheading 8
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Points out that some counterfeit goods, in particular counterfeit medicines and fake personal protective equipment and masks in the context of the COVID-19 pandemicalth crisis, can have serious impacts on the health of EU citizens and can cause serious harm to public health;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Highlights that in 2016, up to 6.8 % of EU imports, or a value of EUR 121 billion, were fake goods and that IPR infringement entails a low level of risk in terms of both the likelihood of detection and the punishmentsanction if detected; urges the Member States to develop effective and dissuasive sanctions to fight counterfeiting and piracy, especially when it is connected to organised crime , and enhance legal certainty for IPR holders and users;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Stresses that the Internet is significantly used to distribute counterfeit products anduse of digital technologies to support the fight against IPR- infringing serviceements cand welcomes the proposal of the Commission for a Digital Services Act; highlights the fact that proactive measures from be developed only under the conditions set out by the legal framework on the liability of Internet intermediaries wouland contribute enormously to the fight against counterfeiting and that AI and blockchain could play an important role in detecting counterfeit and piracy and enforcing IPR IPR protection, but also following proper checks, including by the judiciary, pertaining the whole supply chain; supports, therefore, the use of new technologies to combat IP infringements and welcomeso their incidence on fundamental rights; welcomes evidence-based publications produced by the EUIPO Observatory;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Highlights that IP protection related to AI technologies is important and that even though current rules on the protection of computer-implemented inventions by patents may cover AI technologies,should be duly considered; notes that clear criteria for the protection of inventions created with the help of AI technologies are necessary; asks the Commission, therefore, in cooperation with the EPO and EUIPO, to provide legal certainty on this subject and to follow the issue closely at international level in the WIPO;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Recalls that in the Continental European understanding of authorship, the concept of 'intellectual creation' is tied to the author's personality, meant to apply to natural persons, and therefore artificial agents such as robots and artificial intelligence shall not be considered as authors, and information produced by them shall not be eligible to copyright protection; considers that the authors’ fragile position and often low remuneration should not be further accentuated by new categories of copyrightable works generated by Artificial Intelligence technologies which would compete with human artistic creation; rejects the concept of data ownership and stresses the need for enhancing access to and use of non- personal data;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Notes that IPR protection is key in encouraging companies to invest in innovative products and processes and to produce new medicines, but is convinced that compulsory licensing and voluntary pooling of patents is important as a last-resort tool meant to allow life-saving interventions in the public interest; calls on the Commission, therefore, to analyse and explore possible options for ensuring effectiveness and better coordination of compulsory licensing in the EU, taking into account cases in which it has been used in the Union, the reasons for its use, the conditions under which it was granted, its economic consequences and whether it achieved the desired effect; in the aim of making full implementation of the flexibilities provided in the WTO TRIPS Agreement; reiterates its call to support proactive, constructive and text-based negotiations for a temporary waiver of the WTO TRIPS Agreement, aiming to enhance global access to affordable COVID-19-related medical products and to address global production constraints and supply shortages;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26