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http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=SPEECH/00/194|0|RAPID&lg=EN
Frits Bolkestein European Commissioner in charge of the Internal Market and Taxation The Protection of Industrial Property in Europe and its place in the world Opening Conference of the Trade Mark Office Alicante, 29 May 2000
DN: SPEECH/00/194 Date: 2000-05-29
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SPEECH/00/194
Frits Bolkestein
European Commissioner in charge of the Internal Market and Taxation
The Protection of Industrial Property in Europe and its place in the world
Opening Conference of the Trade Mark Office
Alicante, 29 May 2000
As Commissioner for the Internal Market I take a keen interest in adapting the single market to the new economy. The key to success is the creation of an open and competitive Europe, which delivers choice for the consumer and new markets for business. To achieve this we need to create an environment which nurtures dynamism and creativity, built upon the foundations of a secure legal environment. We need to encourage as much innovation as possible and thereby make it attractive for industry to invest in Europe. In this context, it is particularly important to put more emphasises on the protection of intellectual property rights. It must become possible to obtain Community-wide protection of intellectual property rights through a simple application system, with legal certainty and at a reasonable price. Some progress in the field of intellectual property right has already been made but a lot remains to be done at the European level. Important legislative improvements in this field are therefore planned for 2000.
Before I give further details of needed legislative improvements in the field of industrial property rights and Patents and Designs in particular, I should like to comment first on an already existing important tool of industrial property protection, the Community trademark system. The Community trademark system is based upon the Regulation on the Community Trade Mark and the Directive for the Harmonisation of National Legislation.
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In order to provide industry with a third tool of industrial property protection at a Community level, the Commission intends this year to present a proposal for a unitary Community patent system.
This idea has been particularly welcomed by the Lisbon summit, which stated that innovations should be adequately rewarded within the new knowledge-based economy, in particular through patent protection, whereby an explicit reference was made to the future Community Patent.
The Community Patent will have the same unitary features as the Community Trademark and the Community Design. The Community Patent must be affordable. It is also crucial that the Community Patent system should guarantee legal certainty. In this context the Commission has in its contribution to the Intergovernmental Conference on institutional reforms proposed the creation of a single, centralised Community jurisdiction to deal with certain aspects of patent litigation, such as infringement and validity, in first instance and at the level of appeal.
Having today so often referred to the Alicante Office, I must in this context point out that due to its long and high-level experience with the European Patent, it is desirable that the European Patent Office should become the technical operator for the future Community Patents.
The Commission is not only active in the field of industrial property but also proposes new legal instruments in the field of copyright.
I should in particular like to mention the Commission proposal for a Directive on the artist's resale right (droit de suite). [Resale right is the right whereby the author, or after his death, his heirs or other beneficiaries, receives a percentage of the resale price of a work in the field of visual arts each time it is resold.] The discussion in Council has been controversial.
Nevertheless, political agreement on a Common Position was reached on 15 March albeit with the Commission reserving its position because of an exceptionally long transition period of 15 years, which was granted to some countries notably the UK. The second reading still has to take place in Parliament and depending on it, final adoption might be achieved by the end of this year.
On the basis of work carried out in the framework of WIPO the Commission presented also a proposal for a Directive on Copyright and Related Rights in the Information Society. Negotiations in the Council have almost been concluded and final adoption should be possible by the end of this year.
The interests of EU industry are of course not only linked to internal EU matters but also strongly connected also internationally. The internationalisation and globalisation of trade has led the Commission to be highly active in the external intellectual property sphere.
The Commission, on behalf of the Community, is playing a leading role within the World Trade Organisation. The Commission is also very much engaged in the work within the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the traditional forum for negotiating international treaties dealing with intellectual property.
This prolific activity is due to the need, clearly felt nowadays, to provide European firms doing business in non-Community countries with an adequate legal framework within which to enjoy effective, genuine protection of know-how and innovations. The improvement of protection in third countries also makes it possible to combat imports of counterfeit goods into the Community more effectively. In fact, the Commission's general objectives at international level are to stimulate international trade and to create a fruitful climate for cross- border investment.
For the sake of completeness, I should like to point out that in the context of the aforementioned Intergovernmental Conference, the Commission is also proposing a change of the procedural rules of Art 133 of the EU Treaty (ex Art. 113) in order to strengthen the possibilities to take action against Member States of the WTO, which do not respect the provisions of the Agreement. Such a change is necessary in order to strengthen further the role of the Community at an international level.
A good example of the Commission's engagement on behalf of the Community in international work is its participation in the negotiation of the WIPO Treaties on the international registration of Trademarks and Designs (Madrid Protocol and the Hague Agreement) and the two new Treaties which were adopted on the protection of authors ("WCT") and on the protection of performers and phonogram producers ("WPPT").
These two copyright Treaties significantly update the international protection for intellectual property and improve the means to fight piracy world-wide. At the same time they provide for the appropriate international response to the challenges facing intellectual property in the digital age.
The Commission's proposal for the Directive on Copyright and Related Rights in the Information Society implements the main obligations in substance of these Treaties at European Community level.
In parallel with this implementation in substance the Commission proposes a Council decision on the ratification of the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) on behalf of the Community.
The need for protection of industrial property rights for innovation and employment and its impact on competition is crucial. My short presentation of what the Commission has already achieved and of the on-going activities clearly shows the importance the Commission attaches to the protection of Intellectual Property Rights within the EU and at a global level. I am convinced that the importance of intellectual property rights will continue to grow in the coming years, thereby continuing the trend which was set at the end of the "nineties". With the expertise and commitment available in the key organisations in this field - WTO, WIPO, OHIM and EPO - I am convinced that together we shall be able to meet the challenges ahead.
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