Eight Member States referred to court for non-implementation of biotechnology directive
The European Commission is referring eight Member States to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for their failure to implement an EU directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions. Directive 98/44/EC, which aims to clarify certain principles of patent law applied to biotechnological inventions whilst ensuring that strict ethical rules are respected, should have been written into national law by 30 July 2000. However, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden have yet to implement the directive, and have 'failed to reply satisfactorily to formal requests in the form of reasoned opinions sent by the Commission in December 2002.' The Commission claims that the clarifications contained in the directive are essential for the full exploitation of Europe's medical, environmental and economic potential in the field of biotechnology, and that 'Non-implementation of this directive is putting the European biotechnology sector at a serious disadvantage.' The directive has proved controversial in some Member States as it concerns the patentability of biological material, which, can extend to elements isolated from the human body. The Commission claims, however, that the directive contains clear and precise provisions safeguarding the dignity and integrity of the person, and this was confirmed by an ECJ ruling in October 2001. The directive was conceived in order to promote the development of biotechnological inventions at EU level. It aimed to address the numerous discrepancies between Member States' laws and to enable European companies to compete on level terms with their Japanese and American rivals.
Countries
Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden