Summit Closes Patent Conflict for the EU - Malta
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The conclusion of the latest EU summit held on the 29th June 2012 brought with it a new consensus between the leaders of the Member States in the EU in regard to the idea of having an EU based patent court. The final agreement involved dividing the main functions of the courts between France, Germany and Britain, all of whom have been vying to act as the hosts of this court for a while.
This has allowed the Commission to propose the legal framework to the European Parliament and European Council for voting.
The main issue in this regard has always been one of location. With three prominent EU Member States pushing forward their desire to operate this court, debate over who should do so has been drawn out for many months. A compromise was finally reached with all three States taking on a specific function.
The primary seat known as the ‘Central Division of the Court of First Instance of the Unified Patent Court (UPC)’ will be set up in Paris and will act as a court of first instance in regard to patent issues. Furthermore, another two sections will be set up both in London and in Munich which will cater to more specialized areas depending on the field of science involved. The details pertaining to which areas of science each court will be following can be found here.
This decision came in the wake of a long series of debates which was condemned by both MEP’s and Business circles alike. It has been proposed that the ongoing stalemates in setting up the new court framework have cost businesses in the EU in excess of €425,000 per day based on existing ‘validation costs’ according to Eurochambres. It must be noted that the sum does not even include additional administrative costs relating to the complex processes of registering, transferring and licensing along with litigation costs applicable to each.
The measure has been met with mixed reception. There are those that have welcomed this measure and the exclusion of the European Court of Justice in this regard, citing that the ECJ lacks the technical expertise to treat upon cases of patent adequately. This is because patent cases often require an approach requiring more scientific expertise than legal expertise. On the other hand, there are those that have criticized the fact that the ECJ has been excluded from the system, proposing that the entire system in the proposed Unitary Patent Protection Regulation could be described as null under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) specifically because it precludes any reference to the ECJ.
Another issue that delayed agreement in this regard was deciding on a common language for the courts to adopt. It comes as little surprise that the Member States as a whole were not in favor of English, German or French being the official languages, citing that that they felt it would give industries in these countries an unfair advantage over others. So far the “Unitary Patent” system has been proposed under the “Enhanced Cooperation” mechanism. This was to be voted upon by the European Parliament on the 4th of July 2012. This vote was postponed due to the European Parliament voicing its concerns over the omission of the involvement of the ECJ. There is currently no information as to when this issue will be resolved.
AUTHOR: Dr. Matthew Galea Debono
Copyright CSB Advocates
More information about CSB Advocates
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
The main issue in this regard has always been one of location. With three prominent EU Member States pushing forward their desire to operate this court, debate over who should do so has been drawn out for many months. A compromise was finally reached with all three States taking on a specific function.
The primary seat known as the ‘Central Division of the Court of First Instance of the Unified Patent Court (UPC)’ will be set up in Paris and will act as a court of first instance in regard to patent issues. Furthermore, another two sections will be set up both in London and in Munich which will cater to more specialized areas depending on the field of science involved. The details pertaining to which areas of science each court will be following can be found here.
This decision came in the wake of a long series of debates which was condemned by both MEP’s and Business circles alike. It has been proposed that the ongoing stalemates in setting up the new court framework have cost businesses in the EU in excess of €425,000 per day based on existing ‘validation costs’ according to Eurochambres. It must be noted that the sum does not even include additional administrative costs relating to the complex processes of registering, transferring and licensing along with litigation costs applicable to each.
The measure has been met with mixed reception. There are those that have welcomed this measure and the exclusion of the European Court of Justice in this regard, citing that the ECJ lacks the technical expertise to treat upon cases of patent adequately. This is because patent cases often require an approach requiring more scientific expertise than legal expertise. On the other hand, there are those that have criticized the fact that the ECJ has been excluded from the system, proposing that the entire system in the proposed Unitary Patent Protection Regulation could be described as null under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) specifically because it precludes any reference to the ECJ.
Another issue that delayed agreement in this regard was deciding on a common language for the courts to adopt. It comes as little surprise that the Member States as a whole were not in favor of English, German or French being the official languages, citing that that they felt it would give industries in these countries an unfair advantage over others. So far the “Unitary Patent” system has been proposed under the “Enhanced Cooperation” mechanism. This was to be voted upon by the European Parliament on the 4th of July 2012. This vote was postponed due to the European Parliament voicing its concerns over the omission of the involvement of the ECJ. There is currently no information as to when this issue will be resolved.
AUTHOR: Dr. Matthew Galea Debono
Copyright CSB Advocates
More information about CSB Advocates
View all articles published by CSB Advocates
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
