Intellectual Property: Deal reached on Community Patent, March 2003

After more than thirty years of debate, a political deal on the EU Community Patent was finally agreed at a meeting of the Competitiveness Council on 3 March 2003 after EU ministers reached a compromise on the two outstanding issues of the latest proposal: the location of a patent court and the language of the new document.

The deal, which will need to be ratified by EU leaders at the Spring European Council later in March, follows a threat by European Commissioner, Frits Bolkestein, that the European Commission might withdraw the proposal if an agreement had not been reached by the European Council. It offers European businesses the option of applying for a single patent that would be valid in all of the Member States although industry will still have the option of applying to the European Patent Office in Munich for a patent to cover a limited number of states. It is hoped that the new system will reduce both the bureaucracy and costs involved for businesses, bringing the EU more in line with countries such as the United States and Japan where patents are much cheaper. The European Commission estimates that the new community patent, which could be valid in up to 25 countries after enlargement in 2004, will cost about €25,000 - half the current cost of applying for a patent that is only valid in eight EU states.

According to the political deal, a central patent office will not be established in Luxembourg until 2010 after Germany pressed to protect the role of its regional patent courts. This means that national courts will legally supervise the filing of EU patents in the interim. All companies applying for a community patent will have to pay for the translation of the first three pages of the document, which define the legal scope of the patent, into all the EU languages whilst the rest of the patent will have to be in either English, French or German.

The Community Patent was identified at the Lisbon European Council in March 2000 as one of the key tools that would enable the European Union to achieve the goals agreed at that summit of becoming the world's most competitive and knowledge based economy by 2010. The agreement by EU ministers has been heralded as proof that the Member States are able to put aside national differences in order to deliver business-friendly measures and the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Frits Bolkestien, said:

'Today's agreement marks a welcome demonstration that Europe means business,'

The decision was also welcomed by trade organisations such as Eurochambres and UNICE as a positive move towards achieving the Lisbon goals. However they warned that the cost of translating the first three pages of the patent document into all EU languages - set to total 19 after enlargement in 2004 - would seriously affect small and medium sized enterprises, which had been targeted as a growth sector under the Lisbon goals.

The deal will now be subject to approval from the Spring European Council as well as the national parliaments so whilst the thirty year debate may have come to an end, few expect the first Community patents to be granted before 2005.

Links:
Council of the European Union:
	03.03.03:	Press Release: Competitiveness Council, Brussels [PRES/03/59]
European Commission:
	DG Internal Market: Community Patent
European Sources Online: Financial Times:
	04.03.03:	Deal reached on setting up single patent
	28.02.03:	EU patent moves closer after outline accord is secured
European Sources Online: In Focus
	Intellectual Property: No breakthrough on Community patent at Competitiveness Council, November 2002
	Moves towards a European patent

Helen Bower

Compiled: Tuesday, 4 March 2003

After more than thirty years of debate, a political deal on the EU Community Patent was finally agreed at a meeting of the Competitiveness Council on 3 March 2003 after EU ministers reached a compromise on the two outstanding issues of the latest proposal: the location of a patent court and the language of the new document.