The European Commission has decided that the creation of a
central patent court is the most effective way to ensure unity and
consistency in dealing with community patent disputes, according to
Euromoney’s Legal Media Group. The Commission’s proposals will be
sent to other EU institutions for discussion, and may not be
approved until next year.
According to Legal Media Group, the Commission suggested that
the central patent court should be located in Luxembourg and
comprise four legal and three technical judges. Under the
proposals, each case would be heard by two legal judges and one
technical judge. European Patent Office and Commission decisions
would be outside the court’s jurisdiction.
The court would be expected to handle up to 150 cases each year
and, depending on its caseload, regional patent courts could also
be created.
