Brussels, 05/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - Two employers' organisations, the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME) and BusinessEurope, have reacted to the communication adopted by the European Commission on 3 April to breathe new life into debate surrounding improvements to be made to the patent system in the European Union (see EUROPE 9400).
In a press release, UEAPME welcomed the integrated approach mooted by the European Commission for patent dispute settlement, which foresees a specialist court at EU level based on the European Patent Litigation Agreement (EPLA) and courts of first instance. But UEAPME is unhappy at the lack of agreement over the Community patent and urges the Commission to come up with clear, fair proposals in this connection. UEAPME would prefer a reduction in the number of compulsory languages for lodging future Community patents, saying that the ideal solution would be just one language, English.
BusinessEurope says that European companies urgently need reduced costs and greater legal security when it comes to patents. The organisation fully backs ratification of the London Protocol and any progress on the EPLA. Promoted by the European Patent Office, the London Protocol aims to cut translation costs for obtaining a European patent, whereas the draft EPLA includes a special dispute settlement scheme for European patents, separate from the EU system (see EUROPE 9332). (mb)