Article 35 — Certification of intellectual property valuators
In brief
This article requires the Office (EUIPO) to establish and run a voluntary Union certification scheme for intellectual property valuers. Certification attests that a valuer has the knowledge and competence to carry out valuations under the voluntary Union framework, but it is not a professional licence and does not confer any binding legal effect on the valuations produced.
Key points
- Certification is voluntary and attests competence in applying the Union valuation framework; it is not a licence, not a right to exercise a regulated profession, and not a prerequisite for carrying out IP valuations.
- Certification does not make the Office responsible for individual valuations and confers no binding or presumptive legal effect on them.
- Eligibility requires an appropriate educational or professional background and experience, successful completion of specialised training and assessment organised by the Office, and demonstrated objectivity, integrity and adherence to professional standards.
- The Commission is to adopt implementing acts detailing admission requirements, training and assessment content, application procedures, validity and renewal, suspension and withdrawal with procedural safeguards, use of the certified status, and database information, under the examination procedure of Article 38(2).
- The Office, through the Competence Centre, grants, renews, suspends or withdraws certification and maintains a publicly accessible Union database of certified valuers; charges must be transparent, non-discriminatory and cost-based.
What it means in practice
Valuers wishing to signal their competence under the Union framework can seek certification, complete the required training and assessment, and appear in a public Union database. IP holders, investors and financial institutions gain a way to identify valuers who have met a common Union standard, while remaining aware that certification does not give the resulting valuations any binding legal status.
Official text — Article 35 (COM(2026) 567)
1. The Office shall establish and administer a Union certification scheme for
intellectual property valuators. The certification shall attest that a valuator has
acquired the knowledge and professional competence necessary to carry out
valuations under the voluntary Union framework referred to in Article 32(3), first
subparagraph, point (a).
2. Certification under this Article shall be vo luntary and shall attest competence in
applying the Union valuation framework. It shall not constitute a professional licence
or confer a right to exercise a regulated profession, nor shall it be a prerequisite for
carrying out intellectual property valuat ions under Union or national law. It shall be
without prejudice to national rules governing regulated professions, professional
qualifications and the provision of valuation services.
3. Certification by the Office shall not make the Office responsible fo r individual
valuations carried out by a certified valuer and shall not confer binding or
presumptive legal effect on such valuations.
4. To be eligible for certification, the prospective valuator shall:
(a) possess an appropriate educational or profession al background and relevant
professional experience, and technical competence in the valuation of
intellectual property assets;
(b) successfully complete specialised training on the application of the voluntary
Union framework referred to in Article 32(3), first subparagraph, point (a), and
an assessment demonstrating sufficient knowledge and practical ability to
apply that framework;
(c) demonstrate objectivity, integrity and adherence to appropriate professional
standards or codes of conduct.
The training and assessment referred to in the first subparagraph, points (b) and (c)
shall be organised by the Office. The Office may develop and provide such training
and assessment in cooperation with national intellectual property offices and relevant
European or international professional organisations and valuation bodies.
5. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, lay down the following
detailed conditions for the implementation of the certification scheme established by
this Article:
(a) the minimum educational or professional background and professional
experience required for admission to the certification scheme and the evidence
to be submitted for that purpose;
(b) the minimum content, learning outcomes and practical components of the
specialised training referred to in paragraph 4, first subparagraph point (b),
including any requirements concerning attendance;
(c) the form, content, assessment methodology and minimum pass requirements
for the assessment referred to in paragraph 4, first subparagraph, point (c);
(d) the application procedur e, including the documents and evidence to be
submitted and the arrangements for verifying compliance with the conditions
laid down in paragraph 4;
(e) the period of validity of the certification and the conditions and procedure for
its renewal, including requirements relating to continuing professional
development;
(f) the grounds and procedure for suspension and withdrawal of certification,
including appropriate procedural safeguards and the right of the person
concerned to be heard;
(g) the conditions governing the use, presentation and communication of the Union
certification and certified status, including rules intended to prevent any
misleading representation as to the scope or legal effects of the certification;
and
(h) the information concerning cer tified valuators to be included in the database
referred to in paragraph 7 of this Article.
Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure
referred to in Article 38(2).
6. The Office, through the Competence Centre, shall grant, renew, suspend or withdraw
certification in accordance with this Article.
7. The Office, through the Competence Centre, shall establish and maintain a publicly
accessible Union database of intellectual property valuators certified in accordance
with this Article.
8. The Executive Director may introduce charges for the certification, assessment and
renewal services provided under this Article in accordance with Article 178 of
Regulation (EU) 2017/1001. Such charges shall be transparent, non -discriminatory
and shall not exceed the cost of the specific services concerned
Source: European Commission, proposal for a Regulation establishing the European Innovation Act, COM(2026) 567 final, 9 September 2026. Read the official proposal (PDF). Text may change during the legislative process.
Anthony Bochon’s analysis
The certification scheme is, to my mind, the most carefully hedged provision in this chapter, and rightly so. The drafters have gone to considerable lengths to state what the certificate is not: it is voluntary, it is not a professional licence, it does not create a regulated profession, it is not a prerequisite for carrying out IP valuations, and — the point I consider legally decisive — certification confers no binding or presumptive legal effect on individual valuations and does not make the Office responsible for them. This is a deliberate attempt to capture the trust-signalling benefit of an EU-level credential while insulating the EUIPO from liability and respecting national competence over regulated professions and professional qualifications, an area where the Union’s harmonisation powers are limited.
What I would watch is how much practical authority the certificate acquires despite this careful disclaimer. Markets have a way of treating a public certification as a de facto standard, so the implementing acts on training content, assessment, suspension, withdrawal and — notably — the rules preventing misleading representation of the certificate’s scope will be where the real safeguards live. My reading is that the publicly accessible database of certified valuators will, over time, become the reference point lenders consult, which makes the integrity of the suspension-and-withdrawal procedure, with its right to be heard, more significant than its modest drafting suggests.