January 27, 2021 EU Intellectual Property Network

European Cooperation: visual search for TMview extended to Denmark

As of 18 December 2020, the Danish Patent and Trademark Office Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO) has made its trade mark images available to TMview visual search tool. TMview’s visual search facility allows users to search for trade mark images in the world’s largest online trade mark database.

Since 2017, when the first image search facility was implemented in TMview, additional intellectual property offices have incorporated this function into their search facilities. With this latest addition, the DKPTO joins the rest of the intellectual property offices already using visual search, thus bringing the total number of participating offices to 26.

The image search function can be used on trade marks registered with those IP offices that use this capability, which further enriches TMview as a whole.

The widespread use of this function in TMview by various IP offices is the result of the work undertaken by the EUIPO as part of the EUIPO’s European Cooperation Projects.

January 27, 2021 Learning

Tuesday Webinar: February 2021

The Academy is pleased to announce the Tuesday Webinar, live broadcasts scheduled for February 2021:

You can consult the Learning Portal Calendar for additional and updated information. Please note that one day after the broadcast, the recorded webinars will be available at the same link.
Do you have any comments on the Tuesday Webinar programme? Please share them with us Academy@euipo.europa.eu.

On Wednesday, the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety adopted its report on the new EU Circular Economy Action Plan, with 66 votes in favour, 6 against and 7 abstentions.

Circular economy principles

MEPs emphasise that the current linear “take-make-dispose” economy must be transformed into a truly circular economy, based on a series of key principles such as preventing waste and reducing energy and resource use. Products should be designed in a way that reduces waste, harmful substances and pollution, and protects human health. The consumer benefits of a circular economy should be made clear, they say.

Binding targets and indicators

MEPs call for science-based binding 2030 EU targets for materials use and consumption footprint, covering the whole lifecycle of each product category placed on the EU market. To this end, they urge the Commission to introduce in 2021 harmonised, comparable and uniform circularity indicators for material and consumption footprints.

The Environment Committee also calls on the Commission to propose product-specific and/or sector-specific binding targets for recycled content, while ensuring the performance and safety of the products concerned and that they are designed to be recycled.

Sustainable product policy

MEPs strongly endorse the Commission’s intention to broaden the scope of the Ecodesign Directive to include non-energy-related products. They insist that new legislation should be put forward in 2021. This should set horizontal sustainability principles and product-specific standards so that products placed on the EU market perform well, are durable, reusable, can be easily repaired, are not toxic, can be upgraded and recycled, contain recycled content, and are resource- and energy-efficient.

Other key proposals by MEPs include:

• introducing measures against greenwashing and false environmental claims, as well as legislative measures to stop practices that result in planned obsolescence;
• championing the EU Ecolabel as a benchmark for environmental sustainability;
• strengthening the role of Green Public Procurement by establishing minimum mandatory criteria and targets;
• mainstreaming circular economy principles into member states’ national recovery plans.

Quote

Rapporteur Jan Huitema (Renew Europe, NL) said: “The transition to a circular economy is an economic opportunity for Europe that we should embrace. Europe is not a resource-rich continent, but we have the skills, the expertise and the ability to innovate and develop the technologies needed to close loops and build a waste-free society. This will create jobs and economic growth and bring us closer to reaching our climate goals: It’s a win-win.” Watch video statement.

Next steps

The report will be put to the vote during the February plenary sitting.

Background

In March 2020, the Commission adopted a new “Circular Economy Action Plan for a Cleaner and More Competitive Europe”. A debate in the Environment Committee took place in October.

Up to 80% of products’ environmental impact is determined at the design phase. The global consumption of materials is expected to double in the next forty years, while the amount of waste generated every year is projected to increase by 70% by 2050. Half of total greenhouse gas emissions, and more than 90% of biodiversity loss and water stress, come from extracting and processing resources.

76 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the greatest symbol of Nazi evil, we stand united in our shared commitment to preserving the memory of the Holocaust and fighting antisemitism.

We pay tribute to the survivors, who represent the triumph of humanity over hate and whose inner strength inspires us all. We renew our promise that their legacies will live on and that their testimonies will forever stand as a wall against those who would deny the past.

Through initiatives such as the Lonka Project, which focuses on these heroes and their stories, we will work together to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust and the sacred vow of ‘Never Again’ are passed down to our children, our children’s children and all future generations.

It is time to translate the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) into action, and Europe needs a new social contract for the future. This is the key message of the webinar on the Action Plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Social Summit. The event was organised by the Workers’ Group at the European Economic and Social Committee. 

The participatory debate, which took place on 26 January 2021, was moderated by EU specialised journalist Jacki Davis. It saw the participation of European Commissioner Nicolas Schmit, S&D Group President at the European Parliament Iratxe García, Portuguese Deputy Minister of Labour and Vocational Training Miguel Cabrita and Workers’ Group President Oliver Röpke. The idea of an action plan for the EPSR and the organisation of a Social Summit was born before the current pandemic. All speakers agreed, however, that the COVID-19 crisis creates a window of opportunity for the EU to change its political mindset and reconstruct the European social model.

Nicolas Schmit said I very much like the expression chosen by the European Economic and Social Committee, that we need a new social contract. We need it for the future. Without a new social contract, we will not be able find our way out of this crisis, which is causing everyone to lose out: individuals, businesses and States.

On 7 May 2021, the Porto Summit will therefore be the ideal occasion to launch the work on this new social contract and to face major challenges such as unemployment, inequalities and the digital and green transformations. Miguel Cabrita explained that this would be a two-day event, with a high-level conference involving civil society, the social partners and NGOs before the Heads of State summit. We need to build the broadest possible consensus, he said.

What is a new social contract?

It is about the content and about the process, said Oliver Röpke. On the one hand, we have to implement those 20 principles and transform them into tangible results. On the other hand, we have to reinforce social dialogue and the involvement of the social partners and civil society. Only if we have all stakeholders on board can the EPSR fly.

Iratxe García emphasised the importance of concrete action: We need a plan to reintroduce the social European dimension into our lives. For example, we have to think about how to introduce the golden rule for social investment. The new social contract is about understanding that we cannot repeat the same austerity measures that we had after the financial crisis.

Nicolas Schmit highlighted one main principle: the fair distribution of wealth. This starts with raising wages, he said. While stock markets are exploding, wages remain stable”. “We have impoverished our social services, he added. We must focus on education, equal opportunities, democracy and social dialogue: we need to shift from a shareholders’ economy to a stakeholders’ economy, in which both the social partners and civil society are involved.

Concrete measures

Panellists agreed that the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) are the key budgetary asset to implement the EPSR. The Commission’s proposal on adequate minimum wages for workers across Member States is only a starting point to achieve onward convergence in the social dimension of Europe.

We also need a legal framework on minimum income, said Oliver Röpke, as well as on common minimum standards for unemployment benefits. The European Semester could also be central in monitoring social indicators in the Member States.  

According to Miguel Cabrita, measures should address social cohesion and inclusion, income distribution, the quality of jobs and equal opportunities and should reinforce social dialogue. At the Porto Summit, we want to establish a link with the plan to implement the Social Pillar. We need an ambitious agenda because this will be a plan for the next few decades.

Background

In 2020, the Workers’ Group at the EESC published a study on The Macroeconomic Effects of Common Minimum Standards for Unemployment Benefit Schemes in EU member states. Another study, published in 2019, focuses on Integrating the European Pillar of Social Rights into the roadmap for deepening Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union. The debate on the implementation of the EPSR is available on EESC Twitter account at this link.