"BRUSSELS - A majority of the 400 selected participants at a recent European Commission hearing on the future patent policy in Europe called for more centralisation - in the form of a single patent system or a common litigation system - but not at any cost.
A number of the speakers, whose representation was heavy on the industry and patent attorney side, said there is a need for a European Community patent, which could mean that a patent issued anywhere within the Community would apply to all.
Some industry representatives doubted the viability of a Community patent, particularly a 'common political approach' drafted in 2003 by the European Union members. Since then, some members have taken issue with far-reaching language requirements and the role it would give to national patent offices.
But the industry representatives suggested moving ahead with a European arbitration system, in the form of the European Patent Litigation Agreement (EPLA). EPLA was agreed to in a draft agreement drawn up by the European Patent Office (EPO) on behalf of a working group with the latest version dated 16 February 2004. It has never been adopted or ratified.
A large number of speakers called for swift ratification of the London Protocol of 17 October 2000, which aims to create a 'cost-attractive' post-grant translation regime for European patents, according to the EPO. But this is now in the hands of the French government, which opposes it, one participant said.
But there were also industry speakers, including from Nokia and Merck, who cautioned against centralisation of the patent system and said it should not be set up at the expense of the quality of patents, which they said was very good in Europe.
Others, such as the Association for Competitive Technology and Eurochambers, preferred arbitration and mediation to setting up a new court, and said this model was working well at the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Yet other groups, including the European Committee for Interoperable Systems, firmly opposed a Community patent as well as an arbitration system, saying that overprotection is not an incentive for innovation, and argued that the public interest should be respected. [...]"
This report combined with that here and another one there brings me to the conclusion that a combination made of EPLA and London Agreement clearly has scored out the EU Community Patent proposal. If there has been support for the EU Community Patent it appears to be merely quite lukewarm.
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Dipl.-Phys. Axel H Horns is Patentanwalt (German Patent Attorney),
European Patent Attorney as well as European Trade Mark Attorney. In particular, he is Member of:
wrote on 
that here and 
