Community patent (Extract from the Presidency background note on the Competitiveness Council of 26 Nov)

Copenhagen, 21 Nov 2002

The Council will take stock of the situation regarding the proposed Community patent system, following on from work at its meeting on 14 November on the jurisdictional arrangements.

The discussion will cover both the jurisdictional arrangements and the dossier as a whole. In the light of this, the presidency is expected to draw conclusions on a way for taking work forward in the coming months.

Following the discussions on 14 November, the Council noted that further work was necessary on the jurisdictional system and on the dossier as a whole. At its meeting on 21 May, it had adopted conclusions of a procedural nature, having been unable to accept a proposed common approach on the main issues (the role of national patent offices, languages and costs, distribution of fees, the jurisdictional system and the review clause).

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 in Munich in accordance with the requirements and procedures laid down in the European Patent Convention 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.

The proposal is based on articles 308, 225a and 229a of the Treaty (unanimity in the Council; consultation procedure).

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Danish Presidency Website http://www.eu2002.dk/main/