Community Patent - on the agenda for the 26 Nov Council - Comments by the president of the Competitiveness council and Extract from press release on the Competitiveness Council)

Brussels, 14 Nov 2002

Community Patent - Comments by president of the Competitiveness council Danish minister for economic and business affairs

Competitiveness council 14. November 2002

· The community patent is a very difficult dossier that the Danish presidency has worked hard to further;

· The objective is to create a cheap and effective patent to the benefit of the EU's enterprises (and especially the small and medium sized enterprises) as an important initiative in realising the Lisbon-goals. There is a need for a patent that offers real added valued compared to the existing system;

· The presidency has work seriously with the community patent and has particularly focused on the jurisdictional arrangements for the community patent in line with the conclusions from the council's meeting 21. may 2002;

· It is therefore with great regret that I note that it has not been possible to reach an agreement on today's meeting on the general principles for the jurisdictional arrangements of the community patent. Differences remain to important between those member states that retain a strong wish for decentralised courts and those member states that prefer a more centralised model;

· I fully share Commissioner Bolkestein's disappointment over the fact, that it was not possible for us to make further progress on the Community patent at today's meeting. That is why I have decided to put this dossier on the agenda of the next competitiveness council on the 26. November 2002.

Contact information
For further information please contact:
- David M. Zeppernick, Danish Ministry of economy and Business: +45 33 95 46 48 or,
- Jean Ellermann-Kingombe, Danish Permanent Representation: +32 478 40 24 76

The Council examined the jurisdictional arrangements for the proposed Community patent system with a view to identifying principles that might serve as a basis for taking work forward on this issue. Following an in-depth discussion, it noted that further work was necessary on the jurisdictional system and on the dossier as a whole; the jurisdictional system will be examined further by the Council at its session on 26 November.

The Community patent system, which is provided for in a proposal for a Council regulation, is aimed at creating a single patent that would be valid throughout the Community. Patents would be granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich in accordance with the requirements and procedures laid down in the European Patent Convention (EPC) and its implementing regulation.

The European Council has emphasised on several occasions that the Community patent must be an efficient and flexible instrument obtainable by businesses at an affordable cost, while complying with the principles of legal certainty and non-discrimination between Member States and ensuring a high level of quality.

Danish Presidency Website http://www.eu2002.dk/main/
http://ue.eu.int/pressData/en/intm/73214.pdf