‘No conflict’ between IP and competition

Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia has said that there is no inherent conflict between intellectual property (IP) and competition policy. He was speaking at a summit on IP, held in Paris in December.

The Commission, he said, only intervened when IP rights were “abused or used as a cover-up for anti-competitive practices” e.g. the refusal to licence a patent. He believed that injunctions should not be available where there was a willing licensee.

Nokia will retain its patent portfolio after its acquisition by Microsoft. Almunia confirmed that if it Nokia “were to take illegal advantage of its patents in the future,” the Commission would open an anti-trust case.

Recognising the growing importance of IT, he welcomed progress on a unified EU patent court, due to be established in early 2015. Almunia has been Spain’s Commissioner since 2004 and was previously an MP and economist.