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ARTICLES ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
Roberto Dini regularly authors articles on the subject of Intellectual Property.
Among the most recent ones:
The European Parliament v the Commission: the SEP case undermining the EU’s image
IAM – December 2025
In February 2025, the European Commission announced the withdrawal of its proposed SEP Regulation, referencing the impossibility of reaching an agreement […]
Finally, the USPTO is biting the IPR bullet
IAM – November 2025
New USPTO Director John Squires has taken several important steps to improve the inter partes review process since taking […]
The DOJ Understands Royalty-Free Licensing is Far from Free
IPWatchdog – October 2025
“Royalty-free” is an appealing notion, especially when applied to the licensing of a patent essential to a standard. This […]
Auto Licensing Negotiation Groups are a Bad, Anticompetitive Idea
Roberto Dini – September 2025
A detailed critique of the decisions by Germany’s Bundeskartellamt and the European Commission to give the green light […]
Patent Elves: The Role Of Non-Practicing Patent Owners In The Innovation Economy
LES Nouvelles – June 2025
The term “non-practicing entities” (NPEs) describes entities that own patents and whose principal activity is licensing them. NPEs […]
Forget the trolls, it’s time to embrace the elves
IP Watchdog – June 2025
The term “patent troll” has become ubiquitous in the IP world since it was first coined at Intel […]
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Acknowledgment by the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Commission for supporting the development of the report “Patent Assertion Entities in Europe: Their impact on innovation and knowledge transfer in ICT markets”
This report has been developed in close collaboration with Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs), companies affected by PAEs, companies that are clients of PAEs, and experts in the field. Most of the insights and the added value we provide derive from the fruitful exchange with the stakeholders involved. The authors and editors would like to express special thanks to Roberto Dini, Sir Robin Jacob, Thomas Kramler, Ruud Peters and Heinz Polsterer for their very helpful suggestions and contributions in the process of drafting this report.
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Patent Elf is a term coined by Roberto Dini who suggests that there is kinder and gentler sort of licensing company that a Troll, that acts to propagate technology and encourage R&D by allowing researchers to profit from their labours.