FITUG e.V. Förderverein Informationstechnik und Gesellschaft

IPR-Helpdesk & a Single Patent for Europe.

------- Forwarded message follows ------- To: intprop-l@topica.com From: Alexander Weir <alexander.weir@ipr-helpdesk.org> Subject: IPR-Helpdesk & a Single Patent for Europe. Date sent: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 23:44:23 -0800 Send reply to: intprop-l@topica.com

A Single Patent for Europe. Establishing a European area of research and innovation is a key objective to ensure economic growth and accompanying employment within the European Union. At the recent European Council meeting in Lisbon the conclusions (http://www.portugal.ue-2000.pt/uk/execute/mainFrame.asp?id=1533 ) highlighted one aspect of this objective that of securing a Community patent for Europe. The idea of a single patent for Europe is not new. The Treaty of Rome in 1958 provided the economic and political framework under which to bring forward the idea of a European Patent. As a result the six countries of the European Economic Community (EEC) drew up the first European patent project in 1960. This first attempt failed, but in 1968 three countries, France, Germany and the Netherlands, revived the idea of the European patent by dividing the initiative into two parts. First there was to be a convention open to all countries which defined a common grant procedure and secondly a convention defining the Community patent which was to be effective throughout all EEC Member States.

The current European patent system is governed by the Munich Convention. This system established a common patent procedure that covers up to 19 European countries. The very first European patent was filed in 1977 and since then close to one million European patents have been filed. The idea behind the original Community patent, which at this time does not exist, was that it would be granted following a common procedure similar to the current European patent.

The need for patent reform was highlighted during consultations on the Green Paper on Innovation (http://europa.eu.int/en/record/green/gp9512/ind_inn.htm) and on the Community patent (http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/intprop/indprop/index.ht m). It has become a key issue for the R&D community in Europe. Enterprises, research centres, universities which want to secure their inventions through patents have to cope with a patent system in Europe that is seen as complex and expensive. This is particularly striking for companies operating in the United States where the patent system is much less expensive and where a single patent automatically covers the whole market. This situation appears more and more inconsistent with a single European market and a single European currency.

The Lisbon conclusions announcing the intention to have a Community patent by the end of 2001, which is simple and inexpensive to obtain, will surely benefit Europe's innovation community and SME's in particular.

More information regarding this and all other aspects of Intellectual Property Rights in Europe are available from the IPR-Helpdesk website at www.cordis.lu/ipr-helpdesk or by sending an e-mail to info@ipr-helpdesk.org

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