Latest blog articles
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Questions surrounding how the EU budget is spent or audited have been, and will always be, of interest to EU citizens. Formally, the responsibility for the implementation of the budget rests with the Commission, but it is well known that the Member States have a crucial role to play, especially in...
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What is the perspective of several countries on punitive damages in and outside of Europe? What issues arise from the recognition and enforcement of foreign (mostly US) punitive damages judgments? How do different countries view the public policy exception?
These questions and more were among the...
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Patent aggregation is one of the critical paths to raise revenue and earn a return on investment in the ICT sector. It comprises all activities whereby firms build sets of related patents, so-called patent portfolios, and subsequently use these beyond manufacturing. Different kinds of entities...
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Constructing a functioning single market for business and trade among the Member States of the European Union (EU) has been the cornerstone of the EU project, and remains one of the strongest drivers for EU-level legislative reform. Over the years, the EU has prioritized the harmonization of...
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The implementation of the Unitary Patent Package will represent the result of the evolution towards the unification of the European patent system.
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On 4 March 2021, Italy decided to block a shipment of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine that was destined for Australia. This remarkable move, notably made in response to AstraZeneca’s delay in providing the agreed doses of vaccines by the set deadlines, is the first of its kind since the...
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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is arguably one of the biggest crises of modern times. The conflict between the search for a vaccine, and the artificial scarcity created by patent law, has created a catch-22 situation. How will patent law apply to a vaccine under these circumstances?
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Several pharmaceutical companies all around the world, including in the European Union (EU), have been racing to find a treatment for the virus. Since these may be subject to patent rights, government intervention may be needed.
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Electronics companies increasingly engage in patent aggregation, that is to accrue patents without using them for manufacturing purposes. So far, it is unclear whether such behaviour has negative effects on innovation. If it did, could EU competition law remedy it?