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DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION
on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on standard essential patents and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/1001
(COM(2023)0232 – C90147/2023 – 2023/0133(COD))
(Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2023)0232),
– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C90147/2023),
– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
– having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 20 September 2023,
– having regard to Rule 59 of its Rules of Procedure,
– having regard to the opinions of the Committee on International Trade and the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection,– having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A9-0016/2024),
1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;
2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;
3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.
Amendment 1
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Amendment 2
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Amendment 3
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2 a (new)
Amendment 4
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2 b (new)
Amendment 5
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Amendment 6
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Amendment 7
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4 a (new)
Amendment 8
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Amendment 9
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Amendment 10
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Amendment 11
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7 a (new)
Amendment 12
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10 a (new)
Amendment 13
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10 b (new)
Amendment 14
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Amendment 15
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12 a (new)
Amendment 16
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Amendment 17
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13 a (new)
Amendment 18
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Amendment 19
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Amendment 20
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Amendment 21
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16 a (new)
Amendment 22
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Amendment 23
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Amendment 24
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20
Amendment 25
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22
Amendment 26
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Amendment 27
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23 a (new)
Amendment 28
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 24
Amendment 29
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 26
Amendment 30
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 27
Amendment 31
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29
Amendment 32
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 30
Amendment 33
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 31
Amendment 34
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 32
Amendment 35
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 33
Amendment 36
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 34
Amendment 37
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 35
Amendment 38
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 36
Amendment 39
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 37
Amendment 40
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38
Amendment 41
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 39
Amendment 42
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 40
Amendment 43
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 41
Amendment 44
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 42
Amendment 45
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 43
Amendment 46
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 44
Amendment 47
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 45
Amendment 48
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 45 a (new)
Amendment 49
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 46
Amendment 50
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 46 a (new)
Amendment 51
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 46 b (new)
Amendment 52
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 47
Amendment 53
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 48
Amendment 54
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Amendment 55
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 3
Amendment 56
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 4
Amendment 57
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 5
Amendment 58
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Amendment 59
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3
Amendment 60
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 a (new)
Amendment 61
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 6
Amendment 62
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 7
Amendment 63
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10
Amendment 64
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10 a (new)
Amendment 65
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 11
Amendment 66
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 13
Amendment 67
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 16
Amendment 68
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 17 a (new)
Amendment 69
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 17 b (new)
Amendment 70
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 17 c (new)
Amendment 71
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 18 a (new)
Amendment 72
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point a
Amendment 73
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point b
Amendment 74
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point c
Amendment 75
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point d
Amendment 76
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point f
Amendment 77
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point g – point i
Amendment 78
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point g – point ii
Amendment 79
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point g – point iii
Amendment 80
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point g – point iv
Amendment 81
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point h
Amendment 82
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point j
Amendment 83
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Amendment 84
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Amendment 85
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – point b
Amendment 86
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – point c
Amendment 87
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – point f
Amendment 88
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – point h
Amendment 89
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – point i
Amendment 90
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – point j
Amendment 91
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4 – point c
Amendment 92
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4 – point d
Amendment 93
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4 – point f
Amendment 94
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Amendment 95
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Amendment 96
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point b
Amendment 97
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point c
Amendment 98
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point d
Amendment 99
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 3
Amendment 100
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 4
Amendment 101
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Article 6 – paragraph 1
Amendment 102
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 5
Amendment 103
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point a
Amendment 104
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point b
Amendment 105
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – title
Amendment 106
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point a
Amendment 107
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point b
Amendment 108
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Amendment 109
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point g
Amendment 110
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point h
Amendment 111
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point i
Amendment 112
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point j
Amendment 113
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point k
Amendment 114
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 115
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Amendment 116
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Amendment 117
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – point b
Amendment 118
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Article 11 – paragraph 1
Amendment 119
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Article 12 – paragraph 1
Amendment 120
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Article 12 – paragraph 2
Amendment 121
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Amendment 122
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Amendment 123
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
Amendment 124
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 2 – point d a (new)
Amendment 125
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Amendment 126
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Article 14 – paragraph 3
Amendment 127
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 5
Amendment 128
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Article 14 – paragraph 6
Amendment 129
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1
Amendment 130
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Article 17 – title
Amendment 131
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 3 – point e
Amendment 132
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 4
Amendment 133
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 7
Amendment 134
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 8
Amendment 135
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Article 18 – paragraph 1
Amendment 136
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Article 18 – paragraph 4
Amendment 137
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 5
Amendment 138
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 6
Amendment 139
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 8 – introductory part
Amendment 140
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 8 – point b
Amendment 141
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 8 – point b a (new)
Amendment 142
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 8 a (new)
Amendment 143
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 9 – introductory part
Amendment 144
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 9 – point a
Amendment 145
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 10
Amendment 146
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 11
Amendment 147
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Amendment 148
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 5
Amendment 149
Proposal for a regulation
Article 20 – paragraph 6
Amendment 150
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22 – paragraph 1
Amendment 151
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22 – paragraph 3
Amendment 152
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22 – paragraph 4
Amendment 153
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 3
Amendment 154
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 4 – introductory part
Amendment 155
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 5
Amendment 156
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 8
Amendment 157
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 1
Amendment 158
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 2
Amendment 159
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 3
Amendment 160
Proposal for a regulation
Article 24 – paragraph 4
Amendment 161
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 5 – introductory part
Amendment 162
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 5 – point a
Amendment 163
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 2
Amendment 164
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 2 – point a (new)
Amendment 165
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 2 – point b (new)
Amendment 166
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 2 - subparagraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 167
Proposal for a regulation
Article 28 – paragraph 1
Amendment 168
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 1
Amendment 169
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 4
Amendment 170
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Amendment 171
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Article 30 – paragraph 1
Amendment 172
Proposal for a regulation
Article 30 – paragraph 3
Amendment 173
Proposal for a regulation
Article 31 – paragraph 4
Amendment 174
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 3
Amendment 175
Proposal for a regulation
Article 32 – paragraph 5
Amendment 176
Proposal for a regulation
Article 34 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 177
Proposal for a regulation
Article 34 – paragraph 4
Amendment 178
Proposal for a regulation
Article 34 – paragraph 5
Amendment 179
Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 1 – point d
Amendment 180
Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 1 – point f
Amendment 181
Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Amendment 182
Proposal for a regulation
Article 37 – paragraph 1
Amendment 183
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 1
Amendment 184
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 2
Amendment 185
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Amendment 186
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 3 – point a
Amendment 187
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 3 – point b
Amendment 188
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 4 – introductory part
Amendment 189
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 4 – point a
Amendment 190
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 4 – point b
Amendment 191
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 4 – point c
Amendment 192
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 4 – point d
Amendment 193
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Amendment 194
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 5
Amendment 195
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 6
Amendment 196
Proposal for a regulation
Article 39 – title
Amendment 197
Proposal for a regulation
Article 39 – paragraph 1
Amendment 198
Proposal for a regulation
Article 39 – paragraph 2
Amendment 199
Proposal for a regulation
Article 40 – title
Amendment 200
Proposal for a regulation
Article 40 – paragraph 1
Amendment 201
Proposal for a regulation
Article 40 – paragraph 2
Amendment 202
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Article 42 – paragraph 1
Amendment 203
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Article 42 – paragraph 2
Amendment 204
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Article 43 – paragraph 1
Amendment 205
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Article 44 – paragraph 1
Amendment 206
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Article 44 – paragraph 2
Amendment 207
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Article 44 – paragraph 3
Amendment 208
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Article 45 – paragraph 1
Amendment 209
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Article 45 – paragraph 2
Amendment 210
Proposal for a regulation
Article 45 – paragraph 3
Amendment 211
Proposal for a regulation
Article 45 – paragraph 5
Amendment 212
Proposal for a regulation
Article 46 – paragraph 1 – point a
Amendment 213
Proposal for a regulation
Article 46 – paragraph 1 – point b
Amendment 214
Proposal for a regulation
Article 46 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Amendment 215
Proposal for a regulation
Article 46 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Amendment 216
Proposal for a regulation
Article 46 – paragraph 3
Amendment 217
Proposal for a regulation
Article 47 – paragraph 2
Amendment 218
Proposal for a regulation
Article 48 – paragraph 1
Amendment 219
Proposal for a regulation
Article 48 – paragraph 2
Amendment 220
Proposal for a regulation
Article 49 – paragraph 1
Amendment 221
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Article 50 – paragraph 1
Amendment 222
Proposal for a regulation
Article 50 – paragraph 3
Amendment 223
Proposal for a regulation
Article 51 – title
Amendment 224
Proposal for a regulation
Article 51 – paragraph 1
Amendment 225
Proposal for a regulation
Article 52 – paragraph 1
Amendment 226
Proposal for a regulation
Article 53 – paragraph 1
Amendment 227
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Article 54 – paragraph 1
Amendment 228
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Article 54 – paragraph 2
Amendment 229
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Article 54 – paragraph 3
Amendment 230
Proposal for a regulation
Article 55 – paragraph 1
Amendment 231
Proposal for a regulation
Article 55 – paragraph 2
Amendment 232
Proposal for a regulation
Article 56 – paragraph 1 – point b
Amendment 233
Proposal for a regulation
Article 56 – paragraph 1 – point c
Amendment 234
Proposal for a regulation
Article 56 – paragraph 1 – point d
Amendment 235
Proposal for a regulation
Article 56 – paragraph 4
Amendment 236
Proposal for a regulation
Article 57 – paragraph 1
Amendment 237
Proposal for a regulation
Article 57 – paragraph 2 -– point d
Amendment 238
Proposal for a regulation
Article 58 – paragraph 1
Amendment 239
Proposal for a regulation
Article 60 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 240
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – title
Amendment 241
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 1
Amendment 242
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 1 – point a (new)
Amendment 243
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 1 – point b (new)
Amendment 244
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 1 – point c (new)
Amendment 245
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 246
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 247
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 2
Amendment 248
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 3
Amendment 249
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Amendment 250
Proposal for a regulation
Article 62 – paragraph 2
Amendment 251
Proposal for a regulation
Article 62 – paragraph 3
Amendment 252
Proposal for a regulation
Article 62 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Amendment 253
Proposal for a regulation
Article 63 – paragraph 4
Amendment 254
Proposal for a regulation
Article 65 a (new)
Amendment 255
Proposal for a regulation
Article 65 b (new)
Amendment 256
Proposal for a regulation
Article 65 c (new)
Amendment 257
Proposal for a regulation
Article 66 – paragraph 1
Amendment 258
Proposal for a regulation
Article 66 – paragraph 4
Amendment 259
Proposal for a regulation
Article 67 – paragraph 2
Amendment 260
Proposal for a regulation
Article 67 – paragraph 3
Amendment 261
Proposal for a regulation
Article 67 – paragraph 6
Amendment 262
Proposal for a regulation
Article 70 – paragraph 1
Amendment 263
Proposal for a regulation
Article 70 – paragraph 1 – point a (new)
Amendment 264
Proposal for a regulation
Article 70 – paragraph 1 – point b (new)
Amendment 265
Proposal for a regulation
Article 70 – paragraph 1 – point c (new)
Amendment 266
Proposal for a regulation
Article 70 – paragraph 2
Amendment 267
Proposal for a regulation
Article 70 – paragraph 3
Amendment 268
Proposal for a regulation
Article 70 – paragraph 4
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
A Standard Essential Patent (SEP) is a patent protecting a technology that has been declared essential for the implementation of a technical standard adopted by a standardisation body The interplay between patents and standards is important for innovation and growth, as these patents incentivise research and development and enable an adequate return on investment for innovative companies. Standards ensure a broad uptake of interoperable and secure technologies among businesses and consumers. Worldwide, there are around 75 000 SEPs, but these only represent a small share of patents as a whole. Essential technology standards such as 5G and Wi-Fi, photo formats (JPEG), standards for audio and video compression and decompression (e.g. MPEG, HEVC) and more are covered by such patents. SEPS play a crucial role in developments such as the Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, connected vehicles, smart cities and climate change mitigation technologies. The number of SEPs has increased sixfold over the last ten years, which is good news, given that the protection of SEPs is key to enabling innovation that helps the EU to become more sustainable and more digital.
As early as November 2021, in its resolution on an intellectual property action plan to support the EU’s recovery and resilience (EP resolution on the intellectual property action plan), the European Parliament called for a European Commission proposal on SEPs, as SEPs are often the subject of litigation. The lack of transparency and legal certainty was identified as an issue. The licensing of SEPs is often a lengthy and costly exercise for both patent holders and technology implementers.
Ordinary patent holders are free to decide to whom they wish to grant a licence to exploit their innovation. However, SEP holders do not have this complete freedom, as the inclusion of their patented technology in a standard gives them some degree of market power. Therefore, SEP holders are obliged to grant their licences on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. These FRAND terms have led to a large number of problems, which have also been the subject of court proceedings.
On the one hand, it is near impossible for implementers to find out whether a standard is indeed essential, how many SEPs relate to a given standard, who the corresponding SEP holders are and what the ultimate costs to achieve market entry using the relevant standard will be. Around 84% of SEP implementers are SMEs. For them in particular, the mere threat of a provisional injunction leading to a suspension of production of allegedly infringing products and the probability of legal proceedings may create pressure to agree to a licence at rates that may not be FRAND.
On the other hand, the SEP holder cannot enforce his legitimate interests while the implementer insists on having a licence issued on FRAND terms, with the intention of putting off the obligation to pay royalties for as long as possible. As a result, SEP holders also face lengthy and costly court proceedings, with royalties only being paid at the end of this prolonged procedure.
In order to provide a better factual basis for preventing, resolving and deciding on conflicts relating to FRAND terms, on 27 April 2023, the European Commission submitted a proposal with the following new measures:
1. the establishment of an SEP register and a central electronic database for SEPs;
2. SEP essentiality checks;
3. non-binding determination of the aggregate royalty for a standard;
4. the establishment of a time-limited out-of-court dispute resolution mechanism under expert guidance that can be used by SEP holders and implementers when negotiating a FRAND licence.
In general, the rapporteur supports the Commission’s initiative and the proposed measures, as the Commission has acted in accordance with the EP resolution on the intellectual property action plan.
The rapporteur stresses the importance of increasing the proposal’s legal clarity and bridging the interests of SEP holders and implementers. Both actors play a huge role in the European economy and their interests must therefore be taken into account in the context of a well-balanced legislative act. The proposal must increase the transparency of SEPs in order to compensate for the knowledge advantage of SEP holders, yet without limiting their global competitiveness.
More legal clarity
Knowing which use cases of standards fall under the new legislation is massively important for legal clarity. While the rapporteur agrees that the Commission should address this issue through delegated acts, she believes it is crucial that certain criteria be established already now. For this reason, the rapporteur has proposed amendments to this effect, including a definition of ‘significant difficulties or inefficiencies’.
The rapporteur has also incorporated new definitions which make the text easier to understand.
Creation of a competence centre within the EUIPO and registration
The rapporteur considers that establishing a competence centre at the EUIPO is a sensible proposal, given that the European executive agency has a lot of experience in maintaining databases. It is important that this agency is equipped with sufficient staff and funds to carry out the new task efficiently.
Furthermore, the rapporteur notes the importance of clarifying the difference between the register and the database, of ensuring the accuracy of the register and of preventing potential red tape for SEP holders.
Patent Pools
The rapporteur is in favour of patent pools. If managed in a transparent manner, they provide great added value for SEP holders and implementers. It should however be ensured that this transparency is actually reflected in the information provided, including on the website. To support this, the rapporteur has put forward proposals to that effect.
Essentiality checks
In the EP resolution on an intellectual property action plan, the EP called for an independent, neutral and transparent system for third party essentiality checks. The rapporteur welcomes the fact that the European Commission has taken this on board and proposed a system for assessing the essentiality of patents.
It should be noted that evaluators and conciliators in the FRAND determination procedure should possess the necessary and highly specialised expertise and experience while also being independent and impartial.
In addition, evaluators should also be able to review prior essentiality checks if they have doubts as to their accuracy.
Determination of aggregate royalty
The non-binding determination of the aggregate royalty will help stakeholders to set efficient SEP rates.
The rapporteur believes that it should not be possible to unilaterally block this assessment and has therefore proposed amendments to this effect.
Time-limited out-of-court dispute resolution mechanism
In the EP resolution on an intellectual property action plan, the Commission was also asked to provide more clarity on various aspects of FRAND, and to consider possible incentives for more efficient SEP licensing negotiations and reducing litigation. It also took this request on board, proposing a non-binding dispute resolution system, which has the potential to eliminate strategic delays caused by market participants. The rapporteur welcomes the fact that, on the basis of a third party opinion, this market participant can be asked to provide a security in a very timely manner and realistic and effective in scale.
At the same time, the rapporteur believes that while proceedings are still ongoing, the parties should not yet be obliged to make a binding decision on whether or not they should comply with the outcome of the procedure. The parties should be able to make such a decision only after learning the outcome of the dispute resolution mechanism.
In addition, the rapporteur believes that parallel proceedings should only lead to the termination of the dispute resolution mechanism if the other party so wishes. This is to prevent the procedure from being stopped on account of legal action in a third country.
Micro and small and medium enterprises
In some future-oriented SEP sectors, such as the Internet of Things, 85% of companies are MSMEs. MSMEs usually have limited human and financial resources and therefore the rapporteur strengthens the Commission’s proposals in this regard. She proposes the establishment of a one-stop shop for MSMEs within the competence centre. MSMEs that are SEP implementers should be offered free information on what licences they need for their products or services and how to obtain them. MSMEs that are SEP holders should be offered free information on how to better identify potential licensees and how to effectively enforce their rights. However, this help should only benefit MSMEs whose business models are not solely based on asserting patents.
Assessment of the new instruments
These proposed instruments have the potential to make SEP licensing significantly more efficient. They can reduce inefficiencies and transaction costs in licensing, thereby facilitating licensing negotiations, speeding up their outcomes and reducing costly and laborious litigation procedures. This would make the EU single market a more attractive location for industry standard-setting innovation. However, as the proposed measures also have an impact at global level, the rapporteur believes that the impact on the competitiveness of European SEP holders at global level and on innovation in Europe should also be examined in more detail. If the outcome of this review indicates a negative impact, the Commission should propose appropriate amendments where necessary.
ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT
Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that she has received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the report, until the adoption thereof in committee:
The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.
28.11.2023
OPINION OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE
for the Committee on Legal Affairs
on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Standard essential patents and amending Regulation (EU)2017/1001
(COM(2023)0232 – C90147/2023 – 2023\0133(COD))
Rapporteur for opinion: Danuta Maria Hübner
AMENDMENTS
Amendment 1
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 2
Amendment 2
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Or. en
Amendment 3
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 4
Amendment 4
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Amendment 5
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 8
Amendment 6
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Amendment 7
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Amendment 8
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Amendment 9
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Amendment 10
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20
Amendment 11
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22
Amendment 12
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 26
Amendment 13
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 33
Amendment 14
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 34
Amendment 15
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 35
Amendment 16
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 36
Amendment 17
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 40
Amendment 18
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 44
Amendment 19
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 45
Amendment 20
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 46
Amendment 21
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 47
Amendment 22
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 48
Amendment 23
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 49
Amendment 24
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Amendment 25
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 3
Amendment 26
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 4
Amendment 27
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 5
Amendment 28
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Amendment 29
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 7
Amendment 30
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10
Amendment 31
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 16
Amendment 32
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point f
Amendment 33
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 3
Amendment 34
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4 – point c
Amendment 35
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4 – point f
Amendment 36
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point d
Amendment 37
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point g
Amendment 38
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point h
Amendment 39
Proposal for a Regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Justification
The amendments reflects the fact that the European Union competence and jurisdiction is limited to European patents, and as such the Union does not have jurisdiction in respect of patent rights granted by non-EU states.
Data expressed by numerical values such as royalty rates, product volumes, etc cannot be reduced to a non-confidential form.
Amendment 40
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 41
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8
Amendment 42
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Amendment 43
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Amendment 44
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15
Amendment 45
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16
Amendment 46
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17
Amendment 47
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18
Amendment 48
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1
Amendment 49
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 2
Amendment 50
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22 – paragraph 3
Amendment 51
Proposal for a regulation
Article 22 – paragraph 4
Amendment 52
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 3
Amendment 53
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 4 – introductory part
Amendment 54
Proposal for a regulation
Article 23 – paragraph 5
Amendment 55
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 2
Amendment 56
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 5 – introductory part
Amendment 57
Proposal for a regulation
Article 26 – paragraph 5 – point b
Amendment 58
Proposal for a regulation
Article 27 – paragraph 2
Amendment 59
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 5
Amendment 60
Proposal for a regulation
Article 29 – paragraph 6
Amendment 61
Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 1 – point d
Amendment 62
Proposal for a regulation
Article 36 – paragraph 1 – point f
Amendment 63
Proposal for a regulation
Article 37 – paragraph 2
Amendment 64
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 2
Amendment 65
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Amendment 66
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 3 – point a
Amendment 67
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 3 – point b
Amendment 68
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 4 – introductory part
Amendment 69
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 4 – point a
Amendment 70
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 4 – point b
Amendment 71
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Amendment 72
Proposal for a regulation
Article 38 – paragraph 5
Amendment 73
Proposal for a regulation
Article 39
Amendment 74
Proposal for a regulation
Article 42 – paragraph 1
Amendment 75
Proposal for a regulation
Article 42 – paragraph 2
Amendment 76
Proposal for a regulation
Article 44 – paragraph 1
Amendment 77
Proposal for a regulation
Article 44 – paragraph 2
Amendment 78
Proposal for a regulation
Article 44 – paragraph 3
Amendment 79
Proposal for a regulation
Article 45 – paragraph 1
Amendment 80
Proposal for a regulation
Article 45 – paragraph 2
Amendment 81
Proposal for a regulation
Article 45 – paragraph 3
Amendment 82
Proposal for a regulation
Article 45 – paragraph 5
Amendment 83
Proposal for a regulation
Article 46 – paragraph 1 – point a
Amendment 84
Proposal for a regulation
Article 46 – paragraph 1 – point b
Amendment 85
Proposal for a regulation
Article 46 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 86
Proposal for a regulation
Article 46 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Amendment 87
Proposal for a regulation
Article 47 – paragraph 2
Amendment 88
Proposal for a regulation
Article 50 – paragraph 1
Amendment 89
Proposal for a regulation
Article 50 – paragraph 3
Amendment 90
Proposal for a regulation
Article 55 – paragraph 1
Amendment 91
Proposal for a regulation
Article 55 – paragraph 2
Amendment 92
Proposal for a regulation
Article 56 – paragraph 1 – point b
Amendment 93
Proposal for a regulation
Article 56 – paragraph 1 – point c
Amendment 94
Proposal for a regulation
Article 56 – paragraph 1 – point d
Amendment 95
Proposal for a regulation
Article 56 – paragraph 1 – point d a (new)
Amendment 96
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61
Amendment 97
Proposal for a regulation
Article 63 – paragraph 2 – point a
Amendment 98
Proposal for a regulation
Article 63 – paragraph 2 – point b
Amendment 99
Proposal for a regulation
Article 63 – paragraph 3 – point a
Amendment 100
Proposal for a regulation
Article 63 – paragraph 3 – point b
Amendment 101
Proposal for a regulation
Article 64 – paragraph 2
Amendment 102
Proposal for a regulation
Article 66
Amendment 103
Proposal for a regulation
Article 68 – paragraph 2
Amendment 104
Proposal for a regulation
Article 70 – paragraph 1
Amendment 105
Proposal for a regulation
Article 70 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 106
Proposal for a regulation
Article 70 – paragraph 2
Amendment 107
Proposal for a regulation
Article 70 – paragraph 3
Amendment 108
Proposal for a regulation
Article 70 – paragraph 4
Amendment 109
Proposal for a regulation
Article 72 – paragraph 2
Amendment 110
Proposal for a regulation
Article 72 – paragraph 2 a (new)
PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION
ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT
Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that she has received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the opinion, until the adoption thereof in committee:
The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.
FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION
5.12.2023
SHORT JUSTIFICATION
IMCO fully supports the objective of the draft proposal to improve the licensing of standard essential patents (SEPs). Such improvement aligns with our European goals of fostering innovation, enhancing the digital transition, and ensuring that Europe is a frontrunner in new technologies, thereby encouraging the voluntary participation of European businesses in the European standardization process and ensuring the broadest possible implementation of standardized technologies.
SEPs play a pivotal role in the broader objectives of achieving a seamless single market and ensuring Europe's global competitiveness. Their central role in promoting technological innovation aligns with the emphasis on socio-economic recovery and encourages businesses to invest in the research and development of new technologies, which benefits our entire economy. At the same time we should ensure that SMEs, crucial for the Single Market, are not left behind in the technological race, that access to these technologies remains fair, and that patent holders do not abuse their power to hinder competition.
Given this broader context, which underscores the importance of integrating technology, innovation, and fair competition within the European -technological landscape, it is clear that standard essential patents (SEPs) are vital in achieving these goals. The proposal's overarching objective, which is to streamline and improve the licensing of SEPs, is certainly commendable in light of these ambitions. It aligns with the larger vision of fostering a more cohesive, innovative, and competitive European Union. However, while its intentions are in the right direction, specific areas within the proposal need closer examination.
First, the scope of the Regulation should include all SEPs, present and future. Without such inclusivity, the benefits of transparency and reduced litigation will not be fully realized. They will continue to be subject to the issues this regulation seeks to address, including protracted litigation over the appropriate FRAND values for these SEPs. It is, therefore, imperative to extend the scope of application to all SEPs.
Existing SEPs should be allowed to be registered to ensure that legacy technologies remain both accessible and competitive. The current agreement should still be enforceable even if an existing SEP is not registered. It is only upon submission to the register that all related rules should apply. Consequently, Article 24 of the proposal should be revised to eliminate penalties associated with non-registration of these SEPs.
Second, both SEP holders and implementers should be able to request checks and determinations, and they should be able to do so with a lower threshold, particularly for SME implementers.
In keeping our commitment to transparency and inclusivity, the SEP information database must be accessible to all. While it is understandable to impose fees for specialized checks—like determining a patent's essentiality or FRAND value - the overarching costs for the database's upkeep should fall to the EUIPO. This ensures that a diverse group, from researchers to the general public, can access the information without bearing the financial burden. However, in case of certain type of information in the database, like non-confidential information on FRAND determinations, expert opinions referred to in Article 18 or non-confidential reports of the conciliators, access to it may be subject to the payment of a fee where justified.
Lastly, the draft opinion introduces technical corrections and clarifications to the proposal. In addition to correcting the terminology, this involves clarifying that the mechanisms to determine a SEP's FRAND value and essentiality are separate from the standardization process itself.
AMENDMENTS
The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection calls on the Committee on Legal Affairs, as the committee responsible, to take the following into account:
Amendment 1
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Amendment 2
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 4
Or. en
Justification
The proposed Regulation is based on the understanding that there are concerns about SEP licensing and, in particular, about SEP licensing in future IoT industries. However, current evidence is inconclusive (see the "Empirical Assessment"), and the proposed measures are therefore in contrast with the Better Regulation principles, which require that any intervention in the markets is evidence-based. The Regulation should therefore not apply where significant difficulties or inefficiencies are not observed.
Amendment 3
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 5
Or. en
Justification
Considering that there is no evidence of market failure in the impact assessment, the recital should be deleted and, more generally, there should not be retroactive effect (unless duly justified).
Amendment 4
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 67
Or. en
Justification
The recital lacks a clear rationale and a clear scope. Regulations need total clarity as not to create legal uncertainty.
Amendment 5
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 8
Or. en
Justification
The amendments reflects the fact that the European Union competence and jurisdiction is limited to European patents, and as such the Union does not have jurisdiction in respect of patent rights granted by non-EU states.
Amendment 6
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 10
Or. en
Justification
Determination of validity and infringement of patent procedures are a prerequisite to any EU court determination of FRAND terms. It should therefore not be delayed by the FRAND determination procedure as provided in the COM Proposal.
Amendment 7
Proposal for a Regulation
Recital 13
Or. en
Amendment 7
Justification
Proposal for a regulation
For consistency with the deletion of the aggregate royalty mechanism.
Amendment 8
Proposal for a Regulation
Recital 15
Or. en
Amendment 8
Justification
Proposal for a regulation
For consistency with the deletion of the aggregate royalty mechanism.
Amendment 9
Proposal for a Regulation
Recital 16
Or. en
Amendment 9
Justification
Proposal for a regulation
A provision for SEP holders to collectively set an aggregate royalty for their SEPs risks a breach of competition law principles. The aggregate royalty may, in any event, be calculated from individual rates that SEP holders are encouraged to publish. The determination of an aggregate royalty for an entire standard and specific use cases that the Commission proposes is fraught with difficulty and it has so far only been attempted a few times by national courts outside the EU. The few such cases have so far clearly demonstrated that the determination of an aggregate royalty for SEPs is a task that belongs to the courts of law. More generally, the Commission proposal appears to allow top-down price regulation, which is an infringement of Union principles unless there is a clear evidence of market failure (which in this case is absent). This provision should therefore be removed.
Amendment 10
Proposal for a Regulation
Recital 18
Or. en
Amendment 10
Justification
Proposal for a regulation
For consistency with the deletion of the aggregate royalty mechanism.
Amendment 11
Proposal for a Regulation
Recital 20
Or. en
Amendment 11
Justification
Proposal for a regulation
This provision is not compatible with the fundamental property right, granted under Article 17(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2000/C 364/01) TFEU, namely the right to damages, and its non-observance should not be allowed merely in order to encourage compliance with an administrative procedure. It also runs counter Article13(1) of the Enforcement Directive (2004/48/EC).
Amendment 12
Proposal for a Regulation
Recital 23
Or. en
Amendment 12
Justification
Proposal for a regulation
The EUIPO is not a court. Removal from the register renders a patent unenforceable.
Recital 24
Amendment 13
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 25 a (new)
Or. en
Justification
Essentiality checks are highly time consuming and it would be a too big work burden to redo annually.
Amendment 14
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 2631
Or. en
Justification
The scope for implementers to each nominate up to 100 patents per year for essentiality checking has the potential to overwhelm the competence centre and could be used to "game" the system and cause further delays to licensing.
Amendment 15
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 3032
Or. en
Amendment 16
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 33
Or. en
Justification
The Regulation should not affect access to courts which should remain available during FRAND determination.
Amendment 17
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 34
Or. en
Justification
The one-sided continuation can be used in bad faith to cause further delay without risk. Furthermore, because a one-sided continuation is inherently unreliable and will be biased against the absent party, it is effectively a punitive measure. It seems inappropriate to introduce punitive measures in this Regulation.
Amendment 18
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 35
Or. en
Justification
Commitment to comply is not binding and can be manipulated according to one's own interests. Validity and infringement need to be addressed at the same time as FRAND determination. This provision further assists a bad faith one-sided continuation by placing the continuing party at a litigation advantage. Manipulation of the litigation positions, i.e. respective access to justice, to encourage use of this procedure is inadvisable for the reasons given above and is probably unlawful. A defence of lack of essentiality or invalidity takes time to conclude; this is another reason why the FRAND determination should proceed in parallel with any court proceedings.
Amendment 19
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 37
Or. en
Justification
This AM is needed for consistency with the idea that both parties have to agree to continue the FRAND determination (no one-sided continuation).
Amendment 20
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 40
Or. en
Justification
It should be allowed to any party to make the request to terminate the procedure.
Amendment 21
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 4245
Or. en
Justification
The cases mentioned in footnote 40 concerned consumer disputes with service providers under the Universal Services Directive. The CJEU held that a delay of 30 days for a mandatory dispute resolution procedure, in which there were no fees charged and the procedure itself was "transparent simple and inexpensive", was not unlawful, provided that interim measures remained available where necessary. This was in the context of reducing the workload on the courts concerning consumer debt for universal services, and the cases did not concern property rights of any kind and are not comparable to the context of this Regulation.Case C-75/16 similarly concerns consumer disputes with traders and a mandatory mediation scheme intended to protect consumers, and the outcome of that case is, once more, not comparable with the scheme proposed in the Regulation.
Amendment 22
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 44
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the deletion of the aggregate royalty mechanism.
Amendment 23
Proposal for a Regulation
Recital 46
Or. en
Amendment 23
Justification
Proposal for a regulation
The European Commission has been actively promoting and funding the participation of European SMEs in EU standards efforts and the patenting of their inventions. This regulation should be consistent with this policy, and it should seek to promote European technological ambitions, including fostering the growth of EU technology champions.
Amendment 24
Proposal for a Regulation
Recital 47
Or. en
Amendment 24
Justification
Proposal for a regulation
Only use cases to the extent there is proof that they do not give rise to inefficiencies.
Amendment 25
Proposal for a Regulation
Recital 48
Or. en
Amendment 25
Justification
Proposal for a regulation
Only future standard and use cases should be covered in this Regulation, in order to ensure legal certainty.
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Amendment 26
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Recital 49
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the deletion of the aggregate royalty mechanism.
Amendment 27
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – introductorypoint partb
Or. en
Justification
The Regulation should apply to future standards, to have legal certainty.
Amendment 28
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a3
Or. en
Amendment 29
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point b4
Or. en
Amendment 30
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 1 – paragraph 35
Or. en
Justification
Paragraph no longer necessary under the revised structure.
Amendment 31
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 1 – paragraph 4
Or. en
Justification
The proposed Regulation is based on the understanding that there are concerns about SEP licensing and, in particular, about SEP licensing in future IoT industries. However, current evidence is inconclusive (see the "Empirical Assessment"), and the proposed measures are therefore in contrast with the Better Regulation principles, which require that any intervention in the markets is evidence-based. The Regulation should therefore not apply where significant difficulties or inefficiencies are not observed.
Amendment 32
Proposal for a Regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1
Or. en
Amendment 32
Justification
Proposal for a regulation
The Regulation cannot extend beyond European patents that are essential and for which a FRAND commitment has been made.
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Amendment 33
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 7
Or. en
Justification
Unless an implementer intends to use inventions that are protected by a European patent the implementer has no legal nexus with the European Union (unless they are resident in a Member State).
Amendment 34
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 10
Or. en
Justification
No longer necessary under the revised structure.
Amendment 35
Proposal for a Regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 11
Or. en
Amendment 35
Justification
Proposal for a regulation
See definition of SEP.
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 18 a (new)
Amendment 36
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 15
Article 2 a (new)
Or. en
Justification
No longer necessary under the revised structure.
Amendment 37
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 23 – paragraph 12 – point 16a
Or. en
Justification
The current text of the definition of "patent family" is very difficult to implement because "cover the same invention" is open to interpretation and has a subjective element. The definition has important effects – see footnote 60 at page 68 of the Pilot Study for Essentiality Assessment of Standard Essential Patents published by the JRC – we therefore suggest using the ETSI patent family definition.
Amendment 38
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – point fc
Or. en
Amendment 39
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 43 – paragraph 32 – point cf
Or. en
Justification
It is unnecessary, burdensome and costly to require identification of all sections for which the standard is essential. Such a provision is likely to lead to further litigation and is not necessary for the purposes of establishing whether a patent is essential and therefore required to be licensed.
Amendment 40
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 43 – paragraph 42 – point bh
Or. en
Justification
The COM proposal seems to be unnecessary because under Article 9 patent pools are required to publish lists of licensees by sector. For significant patent pools, this additional requirement would impose a large administrative burden. This amendment is also consistent with the deletion of the aggregate royalty and of the possibility to suspend SEPs from the register.
Amendment 41
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 43 – paragraph 4 –3 pointa f(new)
Or. en
Justification
The COM proposal seems to be unnecessary because under Article 9 patent pools are required to publish lists of licensees by sector. For significant patent pools this additional requirement would impose a large administrative burden. This AM is also consistent with the deletion of the aggregate royalty and of the possibility to suspend SEPs from the register.
Amendment 42
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 4 – paragraph 43 – point gi
Or. en
Justification
The COM proposal seems to be unnecessary because under Article 9 patent pools are required to publish lists of licensees by sector. For significant patent pools this additional requirement would impose a large administrative burden. This AM is also consistent with the deletion of the aggregate royalty and of the possibility to suspend SEPs from the register.
Amendment 43
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 4 – paragraph 54 – point c
Or. en
Justification
The registration requirements constitute a heavy administrative burden and it is unjustified for the Commission to continuously change the set of requirements.
Amendment 44
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 54 – paragraph 2 – point4 a (new)
Or. en
Justification
The registration of patent bibliographic data is administratively burdensome, costly, and duplicative, since all of this information (and much more) is readily available free of charge on the European Patent Office's "Espacenet" online database, which is a primary tool used by patent professionals.
Amendment 45
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point d1
Or. en
Amendment 46
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – pointintroductory fpart
Or. en
Justification
Deletion of point (f) is consistent with the suggestions to protect confidentiality put forward in other AMs.
Amendment 47
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point gc
Or. en
Justification
Deletion of point (g) is consistent with the deletion of aggregate royalty put forward in other AMs.
Amendment 48
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2 – point hd
Or. en
Justification
Deletion of point (h) is consistent with the deletion of aggregate royalty put forward in other AMs.
Amendment 49
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 65 – paragraph 12 – point k
Or. en
Justification
Data expressed by numerical values such as royalty rates, product volumes, etc cannot be reduced to a non-confidential form.
Amendment 50
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 75 -– paragraph - 1a (new)3
Or. en
Amendment 51
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 76 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Or. en
Justification
Implementers using, or intending to use, standardised technologies should seek licenses for their use. The starting point is to inform the EUIPO competence centre of the uses they make. SEP holders are not in a position to do this, and it is necessary for implementers to engage.
Amendment 52
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – pointintroductory apart
Or. en
Amendment 53
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 7 – paragraph -1 1a– (new)point a
Or. en
Amendment 54
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 87 – paragraph 1 – introductorypoint partb
Or. en
Amendment 55
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 87 – paragraph 1 – point a (new)
Or. en
Amendment 56
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – pointintroductory bpart
Or. en
Justification
Point (b) is removed as this provision would require the SEP holder to act in breach of confidence and in breach of the contractual provisions governing the patent pool.
Amendment 57
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 98 – paragraph 1 – point gb
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the revised Article 7.
Amendment 58
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 108 – paragraph 21 – point b a (new)
Or. en
Justification
Alternative dispute resolution proceedings are voluntary, contractual in nature and almost invariably agreed to be confidential. Usually, the existence of the proceedings is itself confidential. This provision could be read as endorsing or permitting breach of confidence and breach of contract.
Amendment 59
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 11
Article 9 – paragraph 1 – point g
Or. en
Justification
Alternative dispute resolution proceedings are voluntary, contractual in nature and confidential. This provision could endorse or permit breach of confidence/contract. It would undermine attempts at alternative dispute resolution for SEP licenses worldwide, nullifying the value of similar systems established by international arbitration institutions (e.g. ICC, LCIA, WIPO, AAA and many others). In addition, the EUIPO cannot be forcibly introduced to the confidentiality regimes of all SEP licensing resolution mechanisms, which are often established under non-EU jurisdictions.
Amendment 60
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 139 – paragraph 31 – point h
Or. en
Justification
Alternative dispute resolution proceedings are voluntary, contractual in nature and almost invariably agreed to be confidential. Usually, the existence of the proceedings is itself confidential. This provision could lead to breach of confidence and breach of contract.
Amendment 61
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 139 – paragraph 41 a (new)
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the revised structure.
Amendment 62
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 15
Article 9 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Or. en
Justification
The provision for SEP holders to collectively set an aggregate royalty for their SEPs risks a breach of competition law principles. The aggregate royalty may, in any event, be calculated from individual rates that SEP holders are encouraged to publish. The determination of an aggregate royalty for an entire standard and specific use cases that the Commission proposes is fraught with difficulty and it has so far only been attempted a few times by national courts outside the EU. The few such cases have so far clearly demonstrated that the determination of an aggregate royalty for SEPs is a task that belongs to the courts of law. More generally, the Commission proposal appears to allow top-down price regulation, which is an infringement of Union principles unless there is a clear evidence of market failure (which in this case is absent). This provision should therefore be removed.
Amendment 63
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 16
Article 11 – paragraph 1
Or. en
Justification
See comment to Article 15.
Amendment 64
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 17
Article 12 – paragraph 2
Or. en
Justification
See comment to Article 15.
Amendment 65
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 18
Article 13 – paragraph 2 – point c a (new)
Or. en
Justification
See comments to Article 15.
Amendment 66
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 1914 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Or. en
Justification
Amended to reflect the removal of aggregate royalty rate.
Amendment 67
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 1914 – paragraph 24 a (new)
Or. en
Justification
Amended to reflect the previous amendment.
Amendment 68
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2014 – paragraph 15
Or. en
Justification
See definition of SEP.
Amendment 69
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2014 – paragraph 26
Or. en
Justification
A recommendation is not a basis for essentiality; see the ETSI definitions.
Amendment 70
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2217 – paragraph 41
Or. en
Justification
This provision has a wholly disproportionate effect since a suspended patent becomes unenforceable.
Amendment 71
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2217 – paragraph 52 a (new)
Or. en
Justification
This provision has a wholly disproportionate effect, since a suspended patent becomes unenforceable.
Amendment 72
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2317 – paragraph 54 a (new)
Or. en
Justification
This provision has a wholly disproportionate effect since a suspended patent becomes unenforceable.
Amendment 73
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2317 – paragraph 65
Or. en
Justification
This provision has a wholly disproportionate effect since a suspended patent becomes unenforceable.
Amendment 74
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 24
Article 17 – paragraph 6
Or. en
Justification
This provision is incompatible with the fundamental property right granted under Article 17(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2000/C 364/01) TFEU and its non-observance should not be allowed merely in order to encourage compliance with an administrative procedure.
Amendment 75
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2617 – paragraph 2 – introductory part7
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the deletion of the aggregate royalty mechanism.
Amendment 76
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2617 – paragraph 2 – point a8
Or. en
Amendment 77
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2618 – paragraph 2 – point b1
Or. en
Amendment 78
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2618 – paragraph 2 – pointintroductory cpart
Or. en
Amendment 79
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2618 – paragraph 5 –2 introductorya part(new)
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the deletion of the aggregate royalty mechanism.
Amendment 80
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2618 – paragraph 53 – point bd a (new)
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the deletion of the aggregate royalty mechanism.
Amendment 81
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2718 – paragraph 24
Or. en
Justification
The skillsets required for essentiality checking (evaluators) and for FRAND determination (conciliators) are very different. For instance, evaluators require engineering and legal skills, whereas conciliators require economic and negotiation skills.
Amendment 82
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2918 – paragraph 15
Or. en
Justification
More time is necessary to define the correct methodology.
Amendment 83
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 2918 – paragraph 6
Or. en
Justification
There are many implementers and there will only ever be more. This provision leaves scope for implementers to collectively challenge very large numbers of registered SEPs, albeit at their own expense. The consequent burden on the EUIPO is likely to lead to delays, which may be used to justify delays in negotiating SEP licenses.
Amendment 84
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3218 – paragraph 38 a– (new)introductory part
Or. en
Justification
The positive case also needs to be provided for, as in the current AM.
Amendment 85
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3418 – paragraph 48 – point b a (new)
Or. en
Justification
Please see comments to the corresponding recital.
Amendment 86
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3418 – paragraph 511
Or. en
Justification
No longer necessary under the revised structure.
Amendment 87
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3719 – paragraph 21 – introductory part
Or. en
Justification
The FRAND determination should run in parallel with any court proceedings.
Amendment 88
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3819 – paragraph 21 – point a
Or. en
Justification
The additional requirement for commitment is a quasi-judicial device to justify a one-sided continuation. However, the commitment made has no legal force or meaning since it can be later withdrawn (per Art.46(1)(b)) and the reasoned determination may in any case be rejected (per Art.56(1)(c). The "commitment" aspect is unnecessary where a FRAND determination proceeds because both parties agree to participate.
Amendment 89
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3819 – paragraph 3 – introductory part2
Or. en
Justification
The amendment provides that the FRAND determination will only continue if both parties agree to participate.
Amendment 90
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3820 – paragraph 3 – point a1
Or. en
Amendment 91
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3822 – paragraph 3 – point b1
Or. en
Amendment 92
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3822 – paragraph 3 –4 pointa c(new)
Or. en
Amendment 93
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3824 – paragraph 4 – introductory part2
Or. en
Justification
The amendment provides that the FRAND determination will only continue if both parties agree to participate.
Amendment 94
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3824 – paragraph 4 – point2 a (new)
Or. en
Amendment 95
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3824 – paragraph 4 – point b3
Or. en
Amendment 96
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3825 – paragraph 4 – point c3
Or. en
Amendment 97
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3826 – paragraph 4 – point d
Or. en
Amendment 98
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3826 – paragraph 5 – introductory part
Or. en
Justification
No longer necessary under the revised structure.
Amendment 99
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3826 – paragraph 65 – point a
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the amendment that provides that the FRAND determination will only continue if both parties agree to participate.
Amendment 100
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 3927 – paragraph 1
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the amendment that provides that the FRAND determination will only continue if both parties agree to participate.
Amendment 101
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 4227 – paragraph 2
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the amendment that provides that the FRAND determination will only continue if both parties agree to participate.
Amendment 102
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 4428 – paragraph 12
Or. en
Amendment 103
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 4529 – paragraph 21
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the amendment that provides that the FRAND determination will only continue if both parties agree to participate.
Amendment 104
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 4529 – paragraph 32
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the amendment that provides that the FRAND determination will only continue if both parties agree to participate.
Amendment 105
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 4529 – paragraph 4
Or. en
Justification
No longer necessary under the revised structure.
Amendment 106
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 4529 – paragraph 54 a (new)
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the amendment that provides that the FRAND determination will only continue if both parties agree to participate.
Amendment 107
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 4631 – paragraph 1 – point b2
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the amendment that provides that the FRAND determination will only continue if both parties agree to participate.
Amendment 108
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 4632 – paragraph 36
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the amendment that provides that the FRAND determination will only continue if both parties agree to participate.
Amendment 109
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 4733 – paragraph 21
Or. en
Justification
It should be allowed to any party to make the request to terminate the procedure.
Amendment 110
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 5034 – paragraph 31 – introductory part
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the deletion of the aggregate royalty mechanism.
Amendment 111
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 5434 – paragraph 34
Or. en
Justification
In some circumstances this may not be possible, for instance where the confidential information comprises values in a confidential licensing agreement with a third party.
Amendment 112
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 5437 – paragraph 3 a (new)1
Or. en
Amendment 113
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 5438 – paragraph 3 b (new)2
Or. en
Amendment 114
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 5538 – paragraph 13 – introductory part
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the amendment that provides that the FRAND determination will only continue if both parties agree to participate.
Amendment 115
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 5538 – paragraph 23 – point a
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the amendment that provides that the FRAND determination will only continue if both parties agree to participate.
Amendment 116
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 5638 – paragraph 13 – introductorypoint partb
Or. en
Justification
This amendment is aimed at adapting the article to the revised structure.
Amendment 117
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 5638 – paragraph 14 – point d aintroductory (new)part
Or. en
Justification
This amendment is aimed at adapting this Article to the revised structure.
Amendment 118
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 5638 – paragraph 4 – point a
Or. en
Justification
Validity is not determined or assessed in the FRAND determination. Determination of validity and infringement procedures are prerequisite to any EU court determination of FRAND terms. It should therefore not be delayed by the FRAND determination procedure in this Regulation.
Amendment 119
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 5638 – paragraph 54 – point b
Or. en
Justification
No longer necessary under the revised structure.
Amendment 120
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 6138 – paragraph 14 – point c
Or. en
Justification
The amendments to Article 61 seek to outline a range of possible measures to implement Option 1 of the Commission's Impact Assessment (i.e. the“SME SEP Licensing Assistance Hub”). In particular, these amendments seek to focus the competence centre on one of the main issues that this Regulation is intended to prevent, namely the reduced use of standards by EU SMEs seeking to enter new IoT markets because of SEP licensing issues.
Amendment 121
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 6138 – paragraph 24 a (new)
Or. en
Justification
The amendments to Article 61 seek to outline a range of possible measures to implement Option 1 of the Commission's Impact Assessment (i.e. the“SME SEP Licensing Assistance Hub”). In particular, these amendments seek to focus the competence centre on one of the main issues that this Regulation is intended to prevent, namely the reduced use of standards by EU SMEs seeking to enter new IoT markets because of SEP licensing issues.
Amendment 122
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 6138 – paragraph 35
Or. en
Justification
The amendments to Article 61 seek to outline a range of possible measures to implement Option 1 of the Commission's Impact Assessment (i.e. the“SME SEP Licensing Assistance Hub”). In particular, these amendments seek to focus the competence centre on one of the main issues that this Regulation is intended to prevent, namely the reduced use of standards by EU SMEs seeking to enter new IoT markets because of SEP licensing issues.
Amendment 123
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 6138 – paragraph 3 a (new)6
Or. en
Justification
The amendments to Article 61 seek to outline a range of possible measures to implement Option 1 of the Commission's Impact Assessment (i.e. the“SME SEP Licensing Assistance Hub”). In particular, these amendments seek to focus the competence centre on one of the main issues that this Regulation is intended to prevent, namely the reduced use of standards by EU SMEs seeking to enter new IoT markets because of SEP licensing issues.
Amendment 124
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 6139 – paragraph 3 b (new)1
Or. en
Justification
These amendments flesh out the idea of an “SME SEP Licensing Assistance Hub” referenced in Option 1 of the Impact Assessment (page 30). In particular, the amendments seek to focus the competence centre on the potential future problem that the European Commission has stated that the Regulation is intended to prevent: reduced use of standards by EU SMEs seeking to enter new IoT markets because of SEP licensing issues. This focus includes conducting studies to enable the competence center to adequately advise SMEs about licensing costs in IoT markets and the annual collection of and reporting on information regarding SEP licensing activity involving SMEs.
Amendment 125
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 61 a (new)
Article 42 – paragraph 2
Or. en
Justification
The agreement with WIPO in paragraph (1) is adopted from Option 1 in the Impact Assessment (at page 30). Paragraph (2) gives SMEs an option to require patent holders to mediate with them under the auspices of WIPO before initiating any infringement action. This would give SMEs the benefit of an opportunity to reach an out-of-court settlement before expending large litigation costs similar to the effect of the original FRAND Determination provisions that would be deleted elsewhere. Paragraph(3) gives SMEs the opportunity to make a commitment to accept a FRAND license on a SEP Holder-by-SEP Holder basis. If an SME makes such a commitment, the SEP Holder would be prohibited from seeking an injunction since it could enforce the commitment under contract law in a national court. Paragraph (4) expressly provides that no adverse inference should be drawn against SMEs that do not avail themselves of the safe harbors.
Amendment 126
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 6344 – paragraph 2 – point a1
Or. en
Justification
No longer necessary given the deletion of the aggregate royalty mechanism.
Amendment 127
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 6345 – paragraph 2 – point b
Or. en
Justification
No longer necessary given the deletion of the aggregate royalty mechanism.
Amendment 128
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 6345 – paragraph 3 – point a
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with previous amendments.
Amendment 129
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 6345 – paragraph 3 – point b4
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with previous amendments.
Amendment 130
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 6445 – paragraph 25
Or. en
Justification
For consistency with the deletion of the aggregate royalty.
Amendment 131
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 66
Article 46 – paragraph 1 – point b
Or. en
Justification
This article should be deleted in line with the proposal to change the scope of this Regulation (i.e. applying it only to new standards).
Amendment 132
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 6846 – paragraph 23
Or. en
Justification
The integration is aimed at specifying that no implementing act should be adopted without an opinion of the committee.
Amendment 133
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 6947 – paragraph 12
Or. en
Justification
It is necessary to ensure legal clarity. The scope needs to be defined clearly in advance.
Amendment 134
Proposal for a Regulationregulation
Article 7248 – paragraph 2
Regulation (EU) 1001/2017
Amendment 135
Article 72 ¬ paragraph
Proposal for a regulation
Or. en
Article 55 – paragraph 2
Justification
Amendment 136
More time is needed for setting up the structure envisaged by the Regulation.
Proposal for a regulation
Article 56 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Amendment 137
Proposal for a regulation
Article 56 – paragraph 4
Amendment 138
Proposal for a regulation
Article 60 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Amendment 139
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 1
Amendment 140
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 2
Amendment 141
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Amendment 142
Proposal for a regulation
Article 61 – paragraph 3 b (new)
Amendment 143
Proposal for a regulation
Article 62 – paragraph 1
Amendment 144
Proposal for a regulation
Article 62 – paragraph 3
Amendment 145
Proposal for a regulation
Article 62 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Amendment 146
Proposal for a regulation
Article 63 – paragraph 3 – point b
Amendment 147
Proposal for a regulation
Article 66
Amendment 148
Proposal for a regulation
Article 67 – paragraph 2
Amendment 149
Proposal for a regulation
Article 67 – paragraph 3
Amendment 150
Proposal for a regulation
Article 67 – paragraph 6
Amendment 151
Proposal for a regulation
Article 70 – paragraph 1
Amendment 152
Proposal for a regulation
Article 70 – paragraph 2
ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR FOR THE OPINION HAS RECEIVED INPUT
The rapporteur has received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the opinion:
The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.
PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION
FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION
PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE
FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE