Brussels, 26/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - The city of Paris is likely again to be proposed by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy to house the soon-to-be-established patents court. AFP reports that Van Rompuy will table his proposal at the European summit on Thursday. The two other candidate cities - London and Munich - will be awarded consolation prizes, such as support functions, a suggestion that has been circulating for the past few days.
The deal being promoted by Van Rompuy, which paves the way for concessions to unlucky candidates, reworks the agreement reached by the Polish Presidency, which proposed Paris as the location for the new patents court. Effectively the majority of member states, stakeholders in the enhanced cooperation on the Community patent - that is, 25 member states, after Spain and Italy refused to take part because of the rules on language - backed the agreement. Germany and the United Kingdom, of course, did not, in the hope of winning the headquarters for themselves. The disagreement having been officially recorded in the minutes of a Competitiveness Council in December of last year, progress on the patent has been halted since. At the European summit at the end of January, the European Council president tried in vain once again to reach an agreement on the Polish Presidency compromise, succeeding only in getting a commitment from member states that they would resolve the issue no later than the June summit.
The three cities are competing to house a court which carries greater prestige and symbolism than real influence: the new court will not have to deal with a multitude of disputes and will have a staff of only around 15, as the Polish Presidency stated in December. Where the court is based raises other issues, however, including the blueprint for the intellectual property law that will be required. France has always stressed its position as an intermediary between the various laws and has worked actively over the last few months to win the right to house the court. The European unitary patent, which has been under discussion for over 30 years, will boost the competitiveness of European firms, including small business (SMEs), which have been at a disadvantage in protecting their inventions compared with their competitors. A European patent valid in just 13 countries, for example, can cost up to €20,000, with translation alone accounting for almost €14,000. This is six times higher than a US patent, which cost around €1,850, according to Commission figures. (SP/transl.rt)