Brussels, 22/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - The ministers have decided to “step up a gear” to improve the European patent system, said João Tiago Silveira, the Portuguese Secretary of State for Justice, speaking on Thursday 22 November after the session of the Competitiveness Council. They were called upon to take note of progress made at the level of the national expert groups competent to devise the integrated dispute settlement legal system to be applied for patents (see EUROPE 9524). “Several Member States have said that we must absolutely make progress, and quickly”, said Mr Tiago Silveira. This, he added, is why we have decided to move to the “next stage”, which is to launch technical discussions on a number of points, including the “Community patent”. However, he warned that it was “not possible to set a date” today for the creation of this kind of legal and Community patent system: “a few months, a year? We do not know”.
Will the two planks- a legal dispute settlement system and the Community patent- make up one single package? “Obviously, it is a single product relating to both of these points”, explained Mr Tiago Silveira, who takes the view that they must first find the methodology which will allow them to move forward “step-by-step”. This view appears to be shared by Germany, which sees both dossiers as an overall package. France, on the other hand, would prefer to separate the two planks. “It is simpler to distinguish between the two issues than to make them into an overall package”, said Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the French Secretary of State for European Affairs. He takes the view that both elements related to the legal system must be developed more: (1) should the link between legal proceedings pertaining to cases of patent infringement and proceedings to overturn a patent remain in place? (2) What will be the “linguistic system” applicable? He went on to highlight France's efforts on this latter point, in its ratification of the London Protocol, simplifying obligations for the translation of patents. (M.B.)