Brussels, 05/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - With judgments returned on Tuesday 5 May, the Court of Justice of the EU has rejected the two actions brought by Spain against the regulations implementing enhanced cooperation for the creation of the unitary protection provided by a patent.
Spain brought actions calling for the two regulations (1257/2012 and 1260/2012) which are part of the “unitary patent package” to be cancelled. One of these concerns the creation of the unitary protection provided by a patent (case C-146/13) and the other covers the details applicable to translation (case C-147/13).
In the first case, the Court of Justice rejected the three complaints alleged by Madrid, regarding: (1) the legality of the administrative procedure which precedes the grant of the European patent (which, Spain argues, is not subject to judicial review); (2) the legal basis (art. 118 TFEU), which Spain feels is inappropriate concerning the uniform protection of intellectual property rights; (3) the fact that the participating member states, acting within a select committee of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation, granted themselves the power to set the level of annual fees and to determine the distribution share of these fees.
The European judges rejected the first argument on the grounds that the contested regulation does not aim to lay down the conditions for granting European patents, which are exclusively governed by the European Patent Convention (EPC). As regards article 118, this article does constitute an appropriate legal basis, the judges find, as the stated aim is to have uniform protection of intellectual property rights on the territory of the participating states. Lastly, it is up to these states, and not the European Commission of the Council of the EU, to take all measures necessary for the execution of the responsibilities under these regulations, as it is they and not the EU which are the contracting parties to the EPC.
The second regulation aims to create a translation regime for the European Patent with Unitary Effect (EPUE) system, consisting of just three languages: German, English and French (a compensatory system and, later, an automatic translation system are provided for). Although Spain argues that this is a clear violation of the principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of language, the Court believes that it is above all the mark of a language regime which makes access to the EPUE and the patent system in general simpler, cheaper and legally more secure. The judges also feel that this regulation is proportionate, as it preserves the necessary balance between the interests of those applying for the EPUE and those of other economic operators. (Jan Kordys)