European suppliers to the region’s car industry have welcomed a vote by the European Parliament to adopt standard essential patents (SEPs) regulation, which they say will ensure a solid legal framework, along with a non-discriminatory license for innovators.

The European Association of Automotive Suppliers (Clepa, Brussels; www.clepa.eu), said companies in the EU invested EUR 30 bn per year in automotive R&D, “paving the way for European leadership in areas such as eMobility, connectivity, and automation. 

“An increasing number of these innovations rely on patented technologies that have become anchored in a standard, for example, to ensure the interoperability of devices. Therefore, automotive supply companies require a governance system that ensures that SEPs are licensed on truly ‘fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms’,” it added.   

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SEPs are patents which protect technology that has been declared essential in a technical standard or specification developed by a standard development organisation.

The draft legislation, which still has to be approved by all 27 EU member states, aims to boost negotiations between SEP holders and those implementers who make use of technologies covered by SEPs.

Clepa said EU-level regulation offers a “balanced system of licensing for the use of standards [that] will motivate SEP holders and implementers to engage in good faith negotiations. The regulation secures certainty and predictability to reliably invest in the development of new technologies, using new standards for companies in the automotive supply industry”.