In this episode, Stinus Jeppesen, CEO of the Hearing Instrument Manufacturer Patent Partnership (HIMPP), discusses with our host Hanane Fathi Roswall how this quite unique, non-profit defensive partnership representing more than 90% of the global hearing aid industry, is fighting for innovation by pruning the IP landscape of the industry through validity challenges and acquisition of patents.

Stinus also explains how a patent system designed to promote innovation and transparency, by offering time-limited exclusivity on breakthrough inventions, can sometimes end up hindering innovation altogether. Stinus breaks down the rising operational threat of Non-Practising Entities (NPEs) — more condescendingly referred to as patent trolls — and the massive sunk costs that operating companies face when forced to fight overly broad and invalid patents. The discussion highlights the shifting geopolitical landscape of post-grant patent procedures, contrasting the European Patent Office’s accessibility with the evolving rules and mounting strategic pressures in the United States.