Activites

• 2012/04/26 Proposal withdrawn by Commission
  • DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/internal_market/', 'title': 'Internal Market and Services'}, BARNIER Michel
• #3057
• 2010/12/10 Council Meeting
  • 3057 summary

    The Council exchanged views on the way forward for the future establishment of a single EU patent system and, in particular, the possibility of initiating enhanced cooperation between several Member States.A large majority of delegations asked the Commission to present a formal proposal for initiating enhanced cooperation. The Commission announced the submission of such a proposal on 14 December 2010.The majority of delegations considered that enhanced cooperation, as provided for in the EU treaty, is the only option for making progress on the creation of a unified EU patent system.The Italian and Spanish delegations strongly opposed the idea of initiating enhanced cooperation on the basis that the requirements for engaging in that process have not yet been met.The Hungarian delegation, which will be holding EU Presidency from January 2011, expressed its commitment to taking the work forward with a view to achieving an agreement on this issue as soon as possible.Following ministerial discussions on 11 October and 10 and 25 November, the Belgian Presidency concluded that it is not possible to reach the required unanimity on a language regime for creating a EU patent system. Therefore a number of delegations expressed their interest in moving ahead on the basis of an enhanced cooperation.The procedural steps to initiate enhanced cooperation in the area of unitary patent protection can be listed as follows:·        it is to be used only as a last resort after verifying the impossibility of reaching unanimity;·        an application submitted to the Commission by Member States wishing to pursue among themselves an initiative blocked at the level of the Union; there must be at least nine countries wishing to participate;·        the Commission assesses whether the request should be accepted. After acceptance, it sends the Council a proposal for authorisation. This proposal must define the framework in which the enhanced cooperation would be carried out;·        the Council grants authorisation by qualified majority, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament;·        once the cooperation has been authorised, all members of the Council may participate in its deliberations, but only the participating countries take part in the votes;·        enhanced cooperation is open at any time to member states wishing to join in.

• #3049
• 2010/11/25 Council Meeting
  • 3049 summary

    In public deliberation, and at the request of the Netherlands and Swedish delegations, the Commission expressed its opinion on the possibility of initiating an enhanced cooperation procedure on a future EU patent system.The request follows a letter sent by several Member States asking the Commission to consider the feasibility of proposing enhanced cooperation in this area, should it receive a request to propose such cooperation in the near future.Several Member States expressed views on this issue and the Council legal service provided an explanation of the compatibility of this kind of enhanced cooperation with the EU treaty, as well as the procedural steps to initiate it.The Presidency announced that this topic would be added to the agenda for the next Competitiveness Council meeting scheduled for 10 December 2010.

• #2982
• 2009/12/03 Council Meeting
• 2009/12/02 Additional information
• #2945
• 2009/05/28 Council Meeting
  • 2945 summary

    The Council took note of a Presidency report on ongoing negotiations aimed at establishing a Community patent and a unified patent litigation system.With regard to the Community patent, in the first half of 2009 discussions in the Council preparatory bodies concentrated on possible cooperation arrangements between patent offices in Europe, based on enhanced partnerships, and on the economic benefits of a Community patent, on the basis of an expert study highlighting the potential of a future Community patent to foster innovation, in particular by SMEs and universities.As regards the unified patent litigation system, discussions focused on a draft Agreement and the draft statute of the future court. EU delegations made progress in understanding how the envisaged court system would work. Important areas addressed and further developed include:  the composition of the panels of judges, the implementation and operation of the envisaged Agreement, the role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the interpretation of Community law and transitional arrangements. The analysis of economic aspects was carried out on the basis of an expert study highlighting the cost-saving benefits to business of a unified patent system. In this regard, the Council agreed in principle to request the ECJ for an opinion on whether the envisaged Agreement, to be concluded between the Community, its Member states and other contracting parties to the European Patent Convention, is compatible with the EC Treaty.Following the conclusions of the Council of December 2006 and of the 2007 Spring European Council, the Commission presented a communication entitled "Enhancing the patent system in Europe" (8302/07) in April 2007. Progress reports were presented to the Council in November 2007 (15162/07), May 2008 (9473/08) and December 2008 (16006/08).

• #2583
• 2004/05/17 Council Meeting
  • 2583 summary

    The Council did not reach agreement by unanimity, as required, on the Presidency's compromise proposal for a Council Regulation on the Community patent. Germany, France, Spain and Portugalvoted against and Italy abstained. Noting that all conceivable compromise solutions for the only outstanding issue, which concerns the translation of patent claims, had been tried, the Presidencystated its intention to refer this matter to the President of the European Council.

• #X019
• 2003/09/22 Council Meeting
• #X018
• 2003/03/03 Council Meeting
• #2467
• 2002/11/26 Council Meeting
• 2002/04/10 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T5-0163/2002 summary

    The European Parliament voted 256 to 187 with 95 abstentions in favour of a resolution approving the Commission's proposal for a regulation to create a Community patent, together with a number of non-binding amendments. Ahead of the Council meeting in May, which is expected to reach the unanimous agreement required to adopt the draft regulation, the amendments express Ana Isabel PALACIO DEL VALLE LERSUNDI's (EPP-ED, E) views on a series of issues which are essential for the adoption and proper functioning of this regulation. The key points are the language arrangements, the role of national patent offices vis-Ó-vis the European Patent Office (an existing non-EU body to which the Community would accede in its own right) and the judicial system. (Please refer to the summary dated 19/02/02).�

• 2002/04/09 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• #2412
• 2002/03/01 Council Meeting
  • X016
• 2002/02/19 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A5-0059/2002
• #2403
• 2001/12/20 Council Meeting
  • 2403 summary

    In accordance with mandate given by the Laeken European Council, the Council continued its examination of the main problems still to be resolved concerning the introduction of the Community patent, focusing in particular on the language arrangements for the future system, the role to be played by the national patent offices vis-à-vis the European Patent Office (EPO) and the judicial system. Even though the Council did not succeed in reaching unanimous agreement on the key questions, the great majority of delegations agreed to continue discussions on the basis of a compromise proposal presented by the Belgian Presidency. The Spanish delegation indicated that it intended to continue working actively on this basis during its Presidency.�

• #2389
• 2001/11/26 Council Meeting
  • 2389
• #2371
• 2001/09/27 Council Meeting
  • 2371 summary

    The Council noted a progress report by the Presidency and held a wide-ranging exchange of views on the outstanding problems concerning the creation of a Community patent. Having noted the principal difficulties of the various delegations with the common approach which it was proposing, the Presidency said that it would do everything possible to draw up a compromise text that all delegations could accept, in order to reach agreement by the end of the year. The Permanent Representatives Committee was invited to press ahead with work on all aspects of the creation of the Community patent. The President of the Council pointed out that all delegations had insisted on the need for the Community patent to be credible. As regards developments to date, the Lisbon European Council's conclusions, subsequently confirmed by the Feira and Stockholm European Councils, requested that a Community patent including the utility model be available by the end of 2001 at the latest. �

• #2351
• 2001/05/30 Council Meeting
  • 2351 summary

    The Council agreed on the following common guidelines for the continued work on the Community patent: - a central role is to be played by the European Patent Office in the grant and administration of Community patents. This would require amendment of the European Patent Convention. - National patent offices should have an important role, bearing in mind contacts with local languages. This would include advising potential applicants for Community patents and transmitting them to the European Patent Office and disseminating information. The nature of other activities should be further considered, taking account of the need to guarantee the quality and uniformity of the Community patent. Applicants should be free to have their applications fully processed by the European Patent Office. - costs need to be kept competitive. - as regards languages, the Community patent system should be based on general principles including that of non-discrimination. Possibilities for limiting translation costs should be explored. - a certain percentage of income from annual renewal fees for the Community patent should be distributed among Member States/national patent office. - jurisdictional arrangements for the Community patent should be set up in accordance with the framework of Articles 225a and 229a of the EC Treaty as adopted at Nice.�

• #2336
• 2001/03/12 Council Meeting
  • 2336 summary

    The Council held a debate on the proposal for a Regulation on the Community Patent, including the relationship between this proposal and the European Patent Convention (EPC), and on the appropriateness of taking steps in order to keep the door open for possible Community accession to the EPC. Several delegations stressed the need to examine thoroughly all aspects of the proposal, giving due consideration to all options, before taking any decision in this respect. The Council will revert to this issue, considered to be a high priority by the Swedish Presidency, at its next meeting on 5 June 2001.�

• 2000/11/30 Debate in Council
• 2000/10/02 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• #2289
• 2000/09/28 Council Meeting
  • 2289
• 2000/08/01 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2000)0412 summary

    PURPOSE: to propose a Council Regulation on the Community Patent CONTENT: The idea of the Community patent dates back to the 1960s. Most recently, the Commission adopted, on 5 February 1999, a Communication on the follow-up to the Green Paper on the Community patent and the patent system in Europe (COM (1999)42 final). The aim of this Communication was to announce the various measures and new initiatives which the Commission was planning to take or propose in order to make the patent system attractive for promoting innovation in Europe. The initiative concerning the Community patent was announced and sketched out in broad outline in the Commission Communication dated 5 February 1999. This proposal incorporates most of that broad outline. This proposal for a Regulation is aimed at creating a new unitary industrial property right, the Community patent. It is essential for eliminating the distortion of competition which may result from the territorial nature of national protection rights. It is also one of the most suitable means of ensuring the free movement of goods protected by patents. Furthermore, the creation of the Community patent will enable undertakings to adapt their production and distribution activities to the European dimension. It is considered to be an essential tool in succeeding in transforming research results and the new technological and scientific know-how into industrial and commercial success stories - and thereby put an end to the 'European paradox' in innovation - while at the same time stimulating private R&D investment, which is currently at a very low level in the European Union compared with the United States and Japan. The main thrust of the proposal is the creation of a 'symbiosis' between two systems: that of the Regulation on the Community patent, a European Community instrument, and that of the Munich Convention, a classic international instrument. The Community patent system will coexist with the national and European patent systems. Inventors will remain free to choose the type of patent production best suited to their needs. As already announced in the Communication of 5 February 1999, the legal basis of the proposal for a Regulation is Article 308 of the EC Treaty. Use of this legal base is in accordance with what has been done in relation to the Community trade mark and Community designs. The form chosen for the instrment- the Regulation- is warranted by a number of considerations. The Member States cannot be left with any discretion either to determine the Community law applicable to the Community patent or to decide on the effects and administration of the patent once it has been granted. The unity of the patent could not be guaranteed by less 'binding' measures. The main features of the proposed Community patent are the following: - Unitary and autonomous nature of the Community patent; - Law applicable to the Community patent. Here, the Regulation does not set out to depart substantially from the principles embodied in national patent law already in force in the Member States; - Affordable cost of the Community patent. This proposal is aimed at making the Community patent more affordable and moreattractive than the present European patent; - Legal certainty of the Community patent in terms of the judicial system. This relates to litigation between private parties and only a centralised Community court can guarantee without fail unity of law and consistent case law; - Division of responsibilities within the centralised Community court. A new court would have jurisdiction in certain situations where jurisdiction would normally have been vested in the Court of First Instance.�

  • DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/internal_market/', 'title': 'Internal Market and Services'}, BARNIER Michel

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2000)0412
• Debate in Council: 2289
• Debate in Council: 2336
• Debate in Council: 2351
• Debate in Council: 2371
• Debate in Council: 2389
• Debate in Council: 2403
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A5-0059/2002
• Debate in Council: X016
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0163/2002
• Debate in Council: 2583
• Debate in Council: 2945
• Debate in Council: 3049
• Debate in Council: 3057

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)