Study  |  02/23/2016

Principles on Conflict of Laws in Intellectual Property (CLIP)

The European Max Planck Group on Conflict of Laws in Intellectual Property (CLIP) is a group of scholars in the fields of intellectual property and private international law. It was established in 2004 and has regularly met to discuss issues of intellectual property, private international law and jurisdiction since then. The Group has drafted a set of principles on conflict of laws in intellectual property and tends to provide independent advice to European and national law makers. The Group is funded by the Max Planck Society.

Principles on Conflict of Laws in Intellectual Property
The Group has prepared Principles on Conflict of Laws in Intellectual Property (CLIP Principles). These Principles cover international jurisdiction, the applicable law, and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in the field of intellectual property. The Principles are scheduled to be published with comments and notes in 2012 by Oxford University Press.

On August 31, 2011 the Group advanced the Final Text of the Principles. This text was presented to an interested audience during a conference on the CLIP Principles on November 4–5, 2011 at the Harnack-Haus in Berlin. After the Conference, this text has been subject to few editorial amendments and replaced by the Final Text of December 1, 2011.

Final Text – December 1, 2011

In order to facilitate its accessibility, the Final Text of the Principles has been translated into different languages by scholars and practitioners working in the fields of intellectual property and private international law. The following non-authentic translations are available:

Chinese translation
German translation
Spanish translation


Preceding the final Text, in an effort to communicate to the public at large the results achieved up to then, the Group made available a Draft and three Preliminary Drafts.


First Preliminary Draft – April 8, 2009
Second Preliminary Draft – June 6, 2009
Third Preliminary Draft –September 1, 2010
The Draft – March 25, 2011


Recommendations to European and national law makers
The Group has made recommendations to the European legislator on issues of jurisdiction, conflict of laws and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments.


Comments on the European Commission’s Proposal for a Regulation on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations („Rome I“) of December 15, 2005 and the European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs’ Draft Report on the Proposal of August 22, 2006


Exclusive Jurisdiction and Cross-Border IP (Patent) Infringement – Suggestions for Amendment of the Brussels I Regulation (published in: (2007) EIPR 195).