Brussels, 20/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - The entry into force of the London Protocol and the European Patent Litigation Agreement (EPLA) could help to bring the Community patent off the ice, said Alain Pompidou, President of the European Patent Office (EPO), speaking on Wednesday 20 December. As he presented the 2006 progress report for his intergovernmental organisation that delivers European patents, he gave his point of view on how the patents system in Europe could be improved. It is essential for progress to be made as the current system is too costly, he said, especially during the phase following granting of the patent, and due to the fact that there is no centralised European court of appeal where patent litigation can be resolved.
Mr Pompidou spoke out in favour of the London Protocol, an international draft agreement that could reduce the cost of translating patents by up to “45%.” The London Protocol does away with the requirement to have a full translation of the European patent in all the official languages of the countries where it is to be valid. Claims - which are at the heart of the patent - will continue to be translated into the three official languages of the EPO, i.e. German, English and French. “We are on the eve of a significant breakthrough if France ratifies” the agreement, Mr Pompidou said. Already approved by eleven EPO member countries and likely to be ratified by Belgium next year, the London Protocol now only needs France's ratification before it can take effect. Mr Pompidou felt that such ratification, validated by the State Council and the French Constitutional Council, ought to be possible during 2007, after the presidential elections in May. Otherwise, he warned, the other countries will all press for “everything in English” and will be supported in their approach by the future German, Portuguese and Slovenian presidencies of the EU Council.
The EPO president spoke of the support received from Charlie McCreevy, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, for the agreement on dispute settlement on European patents as well as the recent refusal by member states of the Council to attribute a negotiating brief to the Commission to become part of EPLA, during the last Competitiveness Council (see EUROPE 9320). Stressing the “optional” nature of this draft international treaty that could see light of day within “five to eight years”, he also spoke of the expected advantages to be enjoyed from its implementation: - the setting in place of a “harmonised system” for settling disputes, increased “legal security” for operators, and the reduction of litigation costs. “We must undertake a constructive debate with all parties interested”, he added, in particular concerning the financing of the single central court, the independence of judges responsible for interpreting the law, and the compatibility of the EPLA agreement with the Community legal framework.
EPLA aims to improve the legal security of the European patents system by providing for the setting in place of a network of national courts of first instance as well as a single central court. Today, litigation on patents is settled at national level in each country where the patent is valid, a costly solution that can entail divergent interpretations of the law on patents. EPLA comes up against strong resistance from certain Member Sates. Cyprus, Spain, France and Italy are in favour of extending Community scope to cover disputes over patents by attributing appeal authority to the EU Court of Justice (see EUROPE 9314). (mb)