Claudia Martinez Felix, Deputy Head of Unit, European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship & SMEs, Unit C4 - Intangible Economy
Since March 2021, Claudia has been Deputy Head of Unit in the European Commission's Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry (DG GROW) Unit C4: Intangible Economy. She contributes to her Unit's goal of managing, developing and enforcing a solid European intellectual property legal framework, including trademarks, the revision of designs legislation, Trade secrets, and the new scheme on geographical indication protection for craft and industrial products. In the area of patents and innovation, a new 'patent package' with legislative proposals on supplementary protection certificates (SPCs), standards essential patents (SEPs), and compulsory licensing was adopted. The 'patent package' also complements the Unitary patent. Claudia also steers the work aiming at reinforcing IP enforcement in the Union and the fight against counterfeiting and promoting policies aiming at facilitating SMEs’ access to and management of IP rights, such as the EU SME Fund.
Before that, she held various positions in the Commission, as Deputy Head of Unit on the Single Market and the free movement of goods, and as a legal officer, on services and competition-related issues. Claudia has also worked as a consultant and in the European Parliament. She is a Spanish lawyer specialising in EU law at the College of Europe, Bruges.