In what it hopes will be the final push, the European Commission yesterday (April 13) put forward two legal proposals to turn the long-held ambition for a single EU patent into reality, offering the come-on that if agreed, registering a patent enforceable in 25 member states will cost only €680.
One proposal deals with how patent holders obtain unitary patent protection while the other sets out the rules for language translation. The move comes despite ongoing uncertainty about the Patent Court that will be used to enforce EU patents, and the not insignificant fact that Italy and Spain have refused to sign up to the project.
This latest effort on the European Patent is part of a broader effort to revive and enhance the single market in a new act which is intended come into force in 2012 - the 20th anniversary of the creation of Europe’s open market.
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Author: Anna Jenkinson
