Luxembourg, 01/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - At the Competitiveness Council on Thursday 1 October, eight member states signed an agreement on the provisional application of the agreement on a single patents court.
A European source says the aim of the agreement, which is the initiative of a number of member states, including Sweden, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, is to speed up the establishment of a patents court. Eight countries took part in the signing, viz, Denmark, Germany, France, Hungary, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Hungary was also due to sign, but Tibor Stelbaczky didn't sign the document because he only took office today. He'll sign it in Brussels over the next few days.
The agreement lists a series of technical issues, such as financing for the court, institutional procedures and recruitment of judges. Although technical, the agreement is important politically, another source explained to this newsletter, because it marks the kick off for getting the court up and running for 1 January 2017.
Internal Market and Industry Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska said it was important for the Commission because they were putting the final touches to the European patent after forty years of negotiations, The agreement will allow the creation of a Community Patent Court and also a Court of Appeal, explained Étienne Schneider, Luxembourg's deputy prime-minister, who chaired the meeting.
On 19 February 2013, 25 member states signed an agreement to set up the Court, jointed recently by Italy (see EUROPE 11400), So far, it has been ratified by eight member states, namely Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal and Sweden. The United Kingdom will ratify the agreement next year, explains the Council of Ministers. Germany will be the last of the big three counties to ratify it.
Although one of the initiators of the agreement, the Netherlands has not actually signed it. The institutions explain that there are in fact two ways to make the agreement binding, either the member state signs and then ratifies it, or the member state issues a statement, and the Dutch have gone for the second option. Belgium is expected to take the same option as the Dutch. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)