FINLAND
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN FINLAND
Hanna Nylund and Davide Battistelli Procopé & Hornborg
A signifi cant number of changes, both legislative and procedural, are taking place in the Finnish IP arena, partly due to the national strategy proposed by the government.
T e substantive laws on intellectual property rights (IPRs) in Finland comply with the relevant standards required under EU law and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of IP Rights (TRIPS). T e main rules are laid down in the Finnish Patents Act, Trademarks Act and Copyright Act, initially enacted in the 1960s. T e laws have since been amended several times.
T e Finnish government published a national IPR strategy in March 2009. T e main goal of the strategy is to develop the Finnish IP system and improve the general awareness of issues related to protection of IPRs in order to support the growth of Finnish IP-intensive companies in national and international markets. A signifi cant number of changes, both legislative and procedural, are taking place in the Finnish IP arena, partly due to the national strategy proposed by the government. T is article provides a brief overview of some of the changes and an update on recent case law.
IP disputes to IPR court—fi nally
T e 2009 IPR strategy included a proposal to concentrate all civil IP disputes in the Market Court. A working group set by the Ministry of Justice concluded that hearing IP matters in a centralised court would better ensure the required expertise and deliver higher-quality decisions, and contribute to swiſt and secure enforcement of IPRs. A bill on extending the Market Court’s scope of authority was passed by the parliament in December 2012 and ratifi ed by the president in January 2013. Most of the required legislative amendments will come into force in the autumn of 2013.
Once the transfer of civil IP cases to the Market Court takes place, the Board of Appeal of the National Board of Patents and Registration will
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cease its operations and the Helsinki District Court will lose its exclusive status as the court competent to hear certain IP-related civil cases. Criminal proceedings will, however, continue to be heard in the local district courts.
Pro-innovation taxation?
A report, commissioned by the Ministry of Employment and Economy, suggesting a tax incentive, an ‘IPR box’, for the commercialisation phase of research, development and innovation activities, was published in December 2012. T e IPR box would introduce a 50 percent tax exemption for royalty income from licensing of patents, trademarks, soſt ware copyrights and certain other rights, provided that the object of protection is entirely or further developed by the licensor. T is would make, it is hoped, Finland a more attractive location for research, development and innovation activities. Similar incentives are already provided in a number of European countries.
An interesting alternative to the IPR box would be an ‘innovation box’, also mentioned in the report. In the innovation box, a wider range of IPRs could be subject to tax exemption, including, for instance, a broader set of copyright-protected works. T e government is expected to process such proposals and reach a decision in spring 2013.
European patent reform
A reform of the patent regime within the EU is currently underway, introducing two major changes: a Unitary Patent (UP) and a Unifi ed Patent Court (UPC). T e new regulations on the UP and the international convention establishing the UPC were formally approved in December 2012, but their application requires ratifi cation of the convention by a minimum of 13 member states. (In mid-February 2013, 24 member states had signed the convention.) T e introduction of the UP will represent a step forward in the harmonisation of the internal market and the
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