VDA CEO Jürgen Mindel regarding the withdrawal of the EU proposal on standard essential patents

"The withdrawal of the draft regulation on standard-essential patents by the EU Commission will have significant negative consequences for both the German automotive industry and for technological progress in Europe as a whole.

The fact is: Standard-essential patents play a crucial role in the development and implementation of technological standards. However, there are currently massive market disruptions in the licensing of standard-essential patents, which could be eliminated by a legally secure framework. In many cases, particularly with wireless communication standards, licensing is currently opaque, ineffective, and fraught with costly litigation. The application of such standards is therefore associated with significant economic risks, which inhibits innovation and impairs fair competition.

The Commission's move away from its planned regulation will weaken technological progress in Europe. Without such a regulation, companies will lack access to essential technologies on a fair basis. The Commission's decision is incomprehensible and will result in a failure to guarantee fair global competition and Europe's technological sovereignty.

We expect the EU Commission to continue to create a legally secure framework for standard-essential patents - also to achieve the objectives of the Automotive Action Plan in the digital sector. Only with such a framework we can maintain Europe's attractiveness as a location for innovation and technology and encourage companies to invest here."