Study on the changing role of intellectual property in the semiconductor industry - including non-practicing entities : executive summary

This report describes the results of a study on the changing role of IP in the semiconductor industry. The corresponding analysis builds on the results of a limited series of interviews and the response to a questionnaire distributed amongst a wider group of actors in the value chain. Our analysis confirms that IP is very important within the value chain. The decision on modality of IP (i.e. patenting, trade secret etc.) is based on a cost benefit analysis, involving arguments like territorial protection needed, traceability of IP, and cost and duration of the process to get to protection. A large majority of the interviewees and respondents of the questionnaire predict no change in IP strategy because of changes in the EU IP regime. This seems to be caused by the fact that not all details are clear (notably the cost involved). Concerning patent trolls, the interviewees and respondents argue that they are an issue especially in the US, and much less in Europe. This is caused in their view by the lower quality of patents and the high litigation costs (i.e. referring to discovery) in combination with the principle of "loser does not necessarily pay the costs".