FSA celebrates emphasis on innovation in Draghi’s report

The Fair Standards Alliance (FSA) welcomes Mario Draghi’s report on EU competitiveness. The FSA celebrates the emphasis in the report on fostering innovation in Europe.

In a recently published comprehensive report, Mario Draghi puts digital innovation at the centre of Europe’s quest for competitiveness. The FSA could not agree more that the EU should focus on eliminating all obstacles that hinder integration of technology into Europe’s strength industries.

At the FSA, we have long advocated for legal and business certainty, for consistent and transparent regime across Europe for large and small businesses seeking to digitise their products and services. We have long called for eliminating obstacles for entire industries in Europe to thrive – from semiconductor manufacturers to smart energy solutions providers, to medical device manufacturers, to makers of devices that bring connectivity to every aspect of lives of European people. Incoherent framework for licensing  standardised connectivity technologies has been a major roadblock in this respect.

We firmly believe that the European Commission’s proposal for a regulation on standard essential patents (SEP Regulation) will contribute to accelerating technological innovation in Europe that will drive future growth, in line with key areas of strategic importance highlighted in the report.

The SEP regulation will create a more transparent and efficient framework for licensing standardised technologies, significantly improving currently opaque and highly unpredictable licensing environment that has been chilling innovation across a variety of sectors and corroding competitiveness of European industry.

The SEP regulation is a real opportunity to (i) drive innovation in Europe, (ii) address Europe’s strategic dependencies, and (iii) support European industry.

The SEP regulation will lower barriers for start-ups and SMEs by providing a harmonised legal framework, reducing compliance costs, and facilitating intellectual property protection across the EU. This will bridge the innovation gap and enable businesses to embrace emerging technologies, integrate them into their offerings and scale, accelerating economic growth in Europe.

Enhanced transparency and simplification of licensing standardised technologies such as LTE, WiFi or wireless charging, will accelerate uptake of these technologies and innovation in Europe. Transparent and clear framework will mitigate potential abuses by key players – most of which are from overseas.

By addressing these critical challenges, the SEP regulation supports the EU’s overarching goal of cultivating a dynamic, competitive, and innovation-driven technology sector.

“We will continue working closely with co-legislators to bring the proposed SEP regulation to life and look forward to its implementation, which will contribute to strategic directions outlined by Mr Draghi for a more competitive Europe.” – Evelina Kurgonaite, FSA Secretary General.