On the 13th April 2011, the European Commission published new draft regulations which would enable a European patent holder to obtain patent protection across 25 European Union countries by making a single application to the European Patent Office.

This differs from the current system in that at present, it is necessary for a patent holder to validate a patent registered with the European Patent Office in each individual country in order to achieve registration in that country. In addition, a patent must be translated into the language of that country.

The process of registering a patent throughout the European Union can cost more than €30,000 under the present system, when translation and administration fees are taken into account. In contrast, the Commission estimates that this cost would be reduced to €680 if its draft regulations are adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers.

One of the cost saving proposals contained in the draft regulations provides that in future, patent applications will only be published in the official languages of the European Patent Office (English, French and German). The Commission has also proposed that patent holders who submit their applications in any other official European Union language will be compensated for the money expended in translating their application into one of the 3 languages listed above. This will be achieved by way of a proportionate distribution between Member States of some of the renewal fees collected by the Patent Office. The objective is that within 12 years every full patent agreement will be published in all three languages.
According to Michel Barnier, the Commission’s Internal Market and Services Commissioner, “The purpose of unitary patent protection is to make innovation cheaper and easier for businesses and inventors everywhere in Europe.”

The new draft regulations come after a decade of attempts by the European Commission to introduce Europe wide patent protection. Previous proposals, such as the establishment of a European Patent Court and the introduction of automated translation software, have been rejected by the European Court of Justice and the Council of Ministers respectively.

25 European Union countries are backing the Commission’s proposals, with only Spain and Italy failing to sign up to the initial plans.

The Commission must now await approval from the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers before the draft regulations can be adopted.

Contributed by Louise Butler