Recently, six industry organizations jointly called on the European Commission to modernize the 20-year-old Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED), focusing on implementing the proportionality principle in patent infringement remedies to address the current proliferation of permanent injunctions.

The six organizations involved are the Intellectual Property Innovation Alliance (IP2Innovate), the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), the Application Technology Association (ACT), the Computer & Communications Industry Association Europe (CCIA Europe), the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA), and the Fair Standards Alliance (FSA). Representing over 100 member companies across automotive, IT, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and consumer goods sectors, these organizations collectively hold more than 580,000 patents within the EU and employ approximately 2.5 million people.

On March 3, 2026, the six organizations jointly wrote to Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President for Growth and Industrial Strategy at the European Commission, calling for modernization of the 20-year-old IPRED Directive. The letter states that despite IPRED's current requirement for patent infringement remedies to comply with proportionality principles, European courts issue permanent injunctions without proportionality assessments in over 99% of cases where patent infringement is established. Citing data from the European Court of Justice's Darts-ip database, the coalition indicates that less than 1% of patent cases actually apply proportionality principles in practice.

Under the current enforcement framework, manufacturers risk immediate product recalls across entire lines even if infringement stems from a minor technical feature within complex products. To avoid this outcome, companies are often forced to accept settlement terms far exceeding the actual value of the patented technology. This impact is particularly severe for SMEs where the infringing product represents their sole revenue source. The Alliance noted that this imbalance in rights has made Europe a magnet for Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs), stifling R&D investment in critical digital technology sectors such as 5G, IoT, artificial intelligence, and high-end semiconductors.

The coalition recalled that although the European Commission issued guidelines on proportionality requirements for IPRED in 2017, the findings of the “Follow-up Study on the Application of the Directive on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights” revealed that these guidelines failed to improve the situation. The letter further highlighted that regions like the United States have effectively curbed the harm caused by PAEs by abolishing ex parte injunction systems and implementing proportionality principles.

As of press time, the European Commission has not formally responded to the above appeal.

Scan the QR code to access the original letter and report.