Property rights package (Communication)

Key points

The EESC:

• agrees with the Commission's objectives regarding the harmonisation of legal systems and the interpretation of the 2004 intellectual property rights enforcement directive (IPRED);
• supports the FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) principles in relation to standard-essential patents (SEPs);
• calls for a regulation that encourages young researchers to use their knowledge and skills to set up new business projects;
• believes that it is essential to persuade consumers to behave in a more socially responsible way with regard to "intangible" property, as they do where "tangible" property is concerned, without compromising their right to "private copying" in the area of copyright.
• considers that the open source principle must be correctly implemented in the field of public research;
• recommends that a European mediation network be set up, to work in line with the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union.