Samuel Laurinkari, eBay Inc.’s Manager Government Relations EU, spoke at a conference organised by the European Intellectual Property Institutes Network (EIPIN) in Maastricht on 29 January.

The conference was part of EIPIN’s (network of leading European research institutes focused on Intellectual Property Law) regular meetings, and focused in particular on Intellectual Property in the Innovation Society.

In his speech, Samuel focused on innovation, intellectual property, and ownership in in the world of internet of things – a world of connected, smart devices. These “connected devices” are made up of a physical object plus embedded processing, actuators and sensors plus connectivity and the Internet. Processing is not only getting more powerful, but cheaper; computing can be affected remotely; and data communication is becoming pervasive. These are the components and some of the developments transforming physical objects into conduits to services.

A common characteristic of Internet of Things devices is that ‘things’ become ‘services’. In other words, the service that is enabled through connectivity and embedded processing brings a lion’s share of the devices’ value to the consumer. For example, a Tesla car would be useless without the software that runs the car and the connectivity that ensures its maintenance – or the Ambient Devices umbrella wouldn’t be the same without its connectivity that enables it to warn you if it is going to rain.

In this development, where products become service avatars, property rights are replaced by control over code and thus challenge the way consumers perceive their relation to products they have purchased. Ensuring consumer empowerment in this "Everything-as-a-Service" world is crucial as healthy markets and sustainable growth require active consumers making informed choices.

Samuel also exchanged views with academics on the increasingly important focus on interoperability & standardization as a way to ensure competition and consumer choice in the world of connected devices.

For more information on eBay’s thinking in this area, you can read the recent presentation of Hanne Melin, eBay Inc,’s Director Global Public Policy and Head of Public Policy Lab EMEA.