Brussels, 31/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - Following the partial agreement on the EU patent at the December 2009 Competitiveness Council (EUROPE 10034), the European Commission is working on new legislation laying down the future EU patent's language system. This is such a controversial issue that the Commission will not be able to unveil its draft legislation under the Spanish Presidency despite its initial plans to publish the details this month. In December 2009, outgoing Commissioner Verheugen said it had been 'utter coincidence' that a decisive impulse had been given to this issue during the Spanish Presidency. Spain refuses to accept the idea that Spanish would not be one of the EU patent languages and therefore that patent details in Spanish would not be legally acceptable. The Commission wants to simplify and cut the costs of applying for an EU patent and according to information received by this newsletter, the options being examined would not make Spanish translations or Spanish patent applications legally binding. A close EU source said that the Commission would rather unveil a regulation in more favourable conditions because if draft legislation were to be published now, it would have to be backed by the Spanish Presidency, but that is not the case. When published, the draft regulation will be subject to unanimous voting at the Council of Ministers.
Alongside this, the Member States have asked the European Court of Justice to issue an opinion on whether the dispute settlement system for patents is compatible with EU law. The Court recently held a hearing of all interested parties and is expected to publish its opinion later in the year, possibly quite soon. The Spanish Presidency argues that the Commission must not publish draft legislation on the EU patent's language system until the Court of Justice has published its opinion. Italy is reported to agree. Other Member States, like countries in Scandinavia, the UK and the Netherlands, want the draft legislation to be published as soon as possible. (M.B. trans fl)