Press Release: Patents: Commission opens the way for some Member States to move forward on a unitary patent

The European Commission has presented a proposal opening the way for "enhanced cooperation" to create unitary patent protection in the EU. Such unitary patent protection would allow those Member States that so desired to agree to establish a patent, valid in all participating countries, that could be obtained with a single application. Obtaining a patent in Europe currently costs ten times more than one in the US because of national validation and translation costs. This situation discourages research, development and innovation, and undermines Europe's competitiveness. Commission proposals for a single EU patent have been under discussion for over a decade. But there has been stalemate in the Council over language rules. The Commission tried to unblock this with its June 2010 proposal on the EU Patent’s language requirements. But as the EU's Council of Ministers has not been able to agree unanimously on the EU patents' language requirements, the Commission has now tabled a proposal opening the way for "enhanced cooperation" to be authorised in this area, in accordance with the EU Treaties.

ESO: Background information: Patents http://www.europeansources.info/record/website-patents/

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