EU launches investigations into patent, trade mark systems

Patent policy has become controversial especially in the technology industries as some protesters have claimed that patent offices have allowed the registering of patents which are too broad and of poor quality. Opponents have argued that this allows companies to stifle others' innovation.

Controversy has also surrounded plans to create a single EU patent, a plan that has been backed by Commissioner Charlie McCreevy.

McCreevy's department, the Directorate General for Internal Market and Services, has announced that it is commissioning a study into the quality of patents in Europe and their future.

"The aim is to study the quality of patent rights with economic analysis in order to propose effective policy solutions for the optimal functioning of the future patent system in Europe considering its objectives to encourage innovation and the diffusion of new technology and knowledge," said a tender document from the Commission.

The document says that research should not just take into account the complex relationships between national patents and those issued by the European Patent Office (EPO) but how the patent system might work under a new plan backed by the Commission.

"[The research] should take into account a system with the co-existence of national and European patents, and a future Community patent which is currently being negotiated between Member States," said the tender document.

The Commission estimates that the research will take 15 months to complete.

The Commission has also put out to tender a study of the trade mark system in the EU. Trade marks can also be issued on a national or European basis, though the Europe-wide Community trade mark gives automatic coverage of the EU in a way that an EPO patent does not.

"The study shall assess the current state of play of the Community trademark system and the potential for improvement and future development," said the Commission's tender document. "As the Community trademark system is closely linked to national trademark systems, the study shall also evaluate national systems and, in particular, the relation and interaction between the 2 systems, including the need for further harmonisation."

The Commission said that the study's findings would be used to assess how well the current system works.

"The results shall, in particular, serve as basis for future review of the trademark system as a whole and enhanced cooperation between the Office for Harmonisation on the Internal Market (OHIM) and the national trademark offices of Member States," said the Commission.