A step closer to the Holy Grail of the European Patent
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At its meeting in Brussels on 4 December 2009, the European Council took a significant step towards the creation of a European patent having unitary effect in the EU (PDF). Currently it is not possible to obtain a single patent to protect inventions in the European Union with innovators forced to file patent applications in every Member State individually. In addition patent owners must litigate infringement separately in each jurisdiction. This leads to increased patent prosecution costs, increased legal fees and lack of legal certainty due to conflicting judgments from national courts.
…the creation of a European Union patent and the establishment of the EU Patent Court as a unified jurisdiction for patent related disputes.
At its meeting, the Council concluded that the enhancement of the European Patent system should have two pillars, i.e. the creation of a European Union patent and the establishment of the European and EU Patents Court (EEUPC) as a unified jurisdiction for patent related disputes. In approving the steps that should be taken, the Council has noted that enhancing the patent system in Europe is necessary for boosting growth and innovation and is a vital element of the internal market.
The EU Parliament will now have the opportunity to debate the new EU Patent Regulation, while the Council will wait for an opinion on the new patent court from the European Court of Justice, which is expected at the earliest by Summer 2010.
