Coalition calls for revamp of Europe’s patent enforcement

CLEPA has joined a coalition of industry associations representing over 100 companies across sectors including automotive, IT, semiconductors, AI, and consumer goods has called on the European Commission to modernise the 20-year-old Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED).

The associations, collectively holding more than 580,000 patents and employing 2.5 million people in the EU, warn that current EU patent enforcement is overly rigid, with courts issuing automatic permanent injunctions in over 99% of infringement cases without assessing proportionality. This puts companies - particularly SMEs - at risk of losing entire product lines over minor patent issues and creates a fertile environment for Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs), discouraging investment in critical digital technologies such as 5G, AI, and high-tech semiconductors.

The letter urges targeted amendments to IPRED to ensure proportionality in patent remedies, noting that past non-binding guidance has failed to address the issue. Industry representatives argue that reform would make the EU more competitive by reducing legal uncertainty, protecting SMEs, and supporting innovation and R&D investment. They stress that aligning Europe's patent enforcement with proportionality standards already applied in regions like the US would prevent locational disadvantages for EU-based manufacturers and help safeguard the startup and innovation ecosystem.

See the full letter below