Transcript EU IP legislation-Introduction

Workshop on intellectual property protection
ETT 58116
organised in co-operation with
The Centre for Innovation and Technology, Industrial
Research Institute of Lebanon
EU Legislation on Intellectual Property
Protection (IPP); an Introduction to the Concept
of IP and the Internationalisation of IP Rights
Dr. Ioannis Kikkis,
EPLO, Head of Intellectual Property dpt.
16 March 2015
The opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the author
and can in no way be taken to reflect the opinion of the European Union
Delegation in Beirut or any other Organisation mentioned
Introduction
• A uniform system of Intellectual Property
protection, based on the standardisation of IP
legislation in all EU Member States, sets up the
foundations for creativity and innovation within
the EU.
• Encouraging creativity and invention, investment
in innovation, and disclosure of new technology is
the rationale behind modern IP protection systems.
• Intellectual property creates a legal means to
appropriate knowledge by preventing others from
using or copying it. It is the most acceptable system
for recognizing and rewarding creators and
innovators.
EU Legislation
• Distinction between primary community law, comprising the
Treaties establishing and modifying the Union, and derived
community law, composed of other sources of community law.
• Derived community law:
• regulations, binding from publication, and apply simultaneously
and entirely to all EU MS without any need to be incorporated into
national legislation
• directives, set for MS objectives to attain, within a pre-set period of
time. MS are free to choose the form and the means to attain these
objectives, incorporating European legislation into their national
legislative framework.
• decisions, used for implementing Community Policies, for instance
in the field of competition law. Unlike a directive, a decision sets out
the means by which the desired result is to be achieved. Unlike a
regulation, which is of general application, a decision has specific
addressees. a particular person or group (individuals or member
States).
• and recommendations. Soft-law, non binding instrument of
indirect action aiming at preparation of legislation in EU MS
EU IP Legislation
• The charter of fundamental rights of the
European Union, which came into force in
2000 is the only main European statute
specific to the protection of intellectual
property, and states in article 17, § 2:
"Intellectual property shall be protected".
• There are then several regulations,
directives and decisions for the protection
of
Copyright,
Patents,
Trademarks,
Industrial designs, Geographical indications
of sources etc.
• For a full panorama of EU IP legislation
consult EUR-lex in the chapter Intellectual
Property under internal market.
Rationale behind Copyright
• Ensure the maintenance and development of
creativity in the interests of authors, performers,
producers, consumers, culture, industry and the
public at large.
• Guarantee the availability of a reward for creators
and provide the opportunity for satisfactory
returns on investment.
• Copyright not only guarantees the livelihood of
authors but also preserves their freedom.
• Finally, copyright-based industries contribute to
the production and dissemination of knowledge
and underpinning economic development.
Functions of Copyright
in the Creative Economy
• Economic function
– An enabler
• defines and protects the underlying assets through incentives
and rewards
– A framework for the operation of creative markets
• secures transactions and attracts investment – a basis for the
cultural market
• Social Function
balance and access
 a mechanism for balancing the multiple interests of stakeholders
– individual, private and public
• Cultural function
Contribute to cultural diversity and supply of content
Copyright-Based Industries
• Core industries
fundamentally exist to produce and distribute
copyright materials
• Interdependent industries
facilitate the creation, production or use of works and other
protected subject matter
• Partial industries
a portion of the activities is related to works/other subject matter
• Non-dedicated industries
facilitate broadcast, communication, distribution or sales of works
(spillover effects)
Rationale behind Industrial
Property Rights
• Promoting commerce by informing the customer of the origin of
the products. Often this may imply a certain quality, which the
customer may be looking for. In some cases, trade signs have
become valuable assets and a marketing tool used by producers
to attract consumers.
• The justification of trade signs` protection is supplemented by
the main ethical argument of fairness and justice, linked to
broader arenas of the protection of traders against “unfair
competition” and “unjust enrichment”.
• Public benefits. Patents for instance act as an incentive to
individuals or organizations to disclose information that
otherwise remained secret. The numerous patents that have
been granted overtime virtually constitute a substantive and
valuable database of technical and scientific information.
Considerations of public interest
• Certain situations where the exclusive rights of a patent owner can
be used without his/her authorization.
• The use of a patented invention may be authorized to a third party
either by a competent court or by a Patent Office (depending on
the law of the country) through a compulsory license. As provided
under the Paris Convention and the TRIPS Agreement, the regime
of compulsory licensing prevents the abuses which might result
from the exclusive rights conferred by a patent.
• Also in case of non-use of the patented invention within a
prescribed period (generally four years from the filing date of
application for patent, or three years from the issue of a patent).
The conditions and circumstances to be respected before granting a
compulsory license to a third party are provided under Article 31 of
the TRIPS Agreement.
Economic development
and IP protection
• Fast economic development and increasing trade
flows are usually interdependent on high
standards of IP protection.
• Strong IP protection is a major incentive to
stimulating sustained inventive and innovative
activity and attracting more investment.
• Integrating IP on their business strategy put
enterprises at an advantageous position in terms
of technological innovation and competitiveness
Enhanced cooperation of public
and private stakeholders
• The horizontal nature of IP requires the conciliation of
the position of various government departments and
the enhanced co-operation of both public and private
stakeholders. Co-ordination and participation of the
key players are fundamental for the reform, the
implementation and the efficient enforcement of IP
protection regimes.
• International and regional cooperation and the
modernisation of administrative infrastructure are
equally critical factors of success.
Consequences of counterfeiting
and piracy
• Rights holders refrain from making intellectual property
available in markets with inadequate IP protection and the
viability of certain IP-based industries is jeopardised.
• Significant tax revenue is lost.
• Counterfeit medicines, adulterated alcohol and food may
pose a serious threat to public’s health in the same terms
that defective spare parts of cars and planes, electrical
devices threaten public safety.
• Finally, the increased involvement in IPRs infringements and
piracy of criminal organisations and terrorist groups in recent
years has alarmed the public authorities.
Empirical evidence of IP industries’
contribution to the economic growth
• 27,7% of US jobs (40 million) in 2010
• 34,8% of GDP ($5,06 trillion value added)
• Growing faster then the rest of the economy 1,6% to 1% over
2011/2010 (copyright 2,4%, patents 2,3%, trademarks 1,1%)
• Wages are 42% higher than other industries
• IP industries accounted for 60,7% of merchandise exports and
19% of private services exports
 Source: Intellectual Property and the US
Economy, Industries in Focus, March 2012, US
Department of Commerce
Internationalisation of IP Rights
• The protection of intellectual property is covered by many
international conventions, most of which are administered
by WIPO and the WTO.
• At the EU level, the registration of community trademarks
and designs is carried out by the Office for Harmonization
in the Internal market (OHIM) and the European Patent
Office (EPO) carries out the task of patents protection.
The Commission is currently campaigning for the effective
introduction of a Community patent system.
WIPO-administered
international IP protection (1)
• Main onjective to simplify the process for simultaneously
seeking IP protection in a large number of countries.
Rather than filing national applications in many
languages, it is possible to file a single application, in
one language, and to pay one application fee.
• These international filing systems not only facilitate the
process but also, in the case of trademarks and industrial
designs, considerably reduce the costs for obtaining
international protection (in the case of patents, the PCT
helps SMEs in gaining time to assess the commercial value
of inventions before national fees are to be paid in the
national phase).
WIPO-administered
international IP protection (2)
• International protection of inventions: PCT system
• International protection of trademarks: Madrid
system.
• International protection of industrial designs: Hague
Agreement.
• International protection of geographical indications
of source: Lisbon Agreement
Increased use of the IP system
• PCT patent filings - 10,7% growth in 2011 (181,900)
• Trademark applications - 6,5% growth (42,270)
• Internation registration of designs – 5,7% increase
over 2011
• Global copyright Industries – 5,4% of GDP and 5,8%
of employment

Source: WIPO Statistics