First there were tariffs on electric cars and the marginalization of health products, and now high technologies, such as 5G. The European Commission has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against China for the abuse of European patents, particularly in the telecommunications sector. Brussels and Beijing have been discussing intellectual property gaps in the Asian giant for some time, which represents an abuse for companies from the old continent, but they have not reached a point of understanding. The community government movement represents the first step for a new commercial dispute.
The conflict stems from Beijing’s authorization to the courts of that country to set globally binding copyright rates for patents on European technologies, but without the consent of the owners of said patents. For Brussels, China “puts pressure on innovative European high-tech companies to reduce their rates globally, thus unfairly giving Chinese manufacturers cheaper access to those European technologies.” That is, in the opinion of the European authorities, an abuse for European innovators. What the European Commission explains is that it represents a “disadvantage” for high technology companies because they cannot exercise their copyright.
It also considers that it breaches the WTO agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights by “unduly interfering with the jurisdiction of EU courts in European patent matters.”
Given this situation and the inability to have resolved the conflict between the two parties, the European Commission raises it to the WTO to resolve “the differences” and “in order to guarantee that its high-tech industries – particularly in the sector of telecommunications – can effectively exercise their patent rights and protect their investments in innovation,” according to the community government in a statement. Now a period of 60 days will open to try to agree on a solution and, if this is not possible, we will move on to the next phase, which consists of the creation of a special group to rule on the matter.
It is not the only trade war conflict that reaches the WTO. Recently, Brussels denounced to the organization the tariffs that China imposed on alcoholic products such as brandy in response to those that the EU placed on electric vehicles manufactured in that country, which grants subsidies to companies, which overproduce, and are flooding the market. European at lower prices.
In 2022, Brussels escalated the conflict to the organization for two of its open trade disputes with China: the trade restrictions that Beijing applied against Lithuanian exports due to its relationship with Taiwan and that are still ongoing; and China’s restrictions on European high-tech patent holders’ access to EU courts to effectively protect and enforce their rights.
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