Patent Law at the Centre of Today’s IP Debate

Abstract

Patent law seems to be at the very centre of the IP debate today. From time to time news about developments in patent law can even be found in the headlines. Not so long ago we witnessed a fiery debate over the landmark Court of Justice decision relating to the patentability of human stem cells. This debate is far from over as new questions were referred to the Court of Justice for preliminary ruling. Today we are carefully watching what will happen with the unitary patent protection in the EU. We are also awaiting the Court of Justice’s decision in Huawei v. ZTE on FRAND defense in cases relating to standard essential patents. In the meantime, however, while awaiting further developments in the pending cases as well as the ratification process, the author of this editorial intends to turn the reader’s attention to a report entitled Patent Assertion and US Innovation. The report was released in June 2013 by the US President’s Council of Economic Advisers, the National Economic Council, and the Office of Science & Technology Policy. It is interesting for a number of reasons. First, the United States usually experiences many developments before these are experienced by other countries. Learning from that experience might be helpful to prepare for the developments that are also inevitable in the EU. Patent law is not an exception. Secondly, the report