Commission proposes establishment of Community Patent Court
The European Commission has put forward two proposals on establishing a Community Patent Court. The first proposal would grant the Court of Justice (ECJ) formal jurisdiction concerning certain disputes over Community Patents, particularly those concerning infringements and validity, while the second proposal would establish a Community Patent Court. The court would comprise seven judges, appointed by the Council of Ministers, who would exercise the ECJ's jurisdiction on its behalf. 'To maximise the benefits of the Community Patent, we need a single Community Patent Court, under the ultimate jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, so that disputes are judged with EU-wide effect,' explained EU Internal Market Commissioner, Frits Bolkestein. He added that he expects the Council to approve the proposals swiftly, as broad agreement on the principle was reached last year. However, he then emphasised that agreement on a court has no use without the final adoption of the Community Patent Regulation itself. This would be 'about as useful as a new pair of skis in the desert,' he said. He called on the Council to act quickly, saying: 'Europe's companies have been crying out for too long for access to pan-European patent protection at reasonable cost with minimum red tape and maximum legal certainty.' Disputes over national patents or European patents granted by the European Patent Office (EPO), but which affect individual Member States, are currently decided by courts in the respective Member States. Bringing action for infringement of a patent or contesting the validity of a patent may therefore require visits to court in a number of different countries, which is both time consuming and costly. It is also possible that courts in different Member States may interpret patent law differently and reach incompatible verdicts. The justification for a Community Patent Court is to put an end to such inconsistencies with the introduction of a single set of procedural rules, and to make the process more affordable, particularly for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). While the Competitiveness Council came very close to reaching an agreement on the creation of a Community Patent when it met in November 2003, consensus on the period of time during which translations of claims can be filed proved unattainable. The Irish Presidency now intends to bring closure to the matter, tabling the proposal for agreement by the Council as soon as possible.