Getting an EU-wide patent is far from cheap. Currently, the
Commission estimates the cost to be in the region of €50,000 – five
times more expensive than the cost of registering a patent in Japan
or the US. It anticipates that a Community Patent will cost
€25,000.
The text agreed covers the main principles and features of the
jurisdictional system for the Community Patent, the language
regime, costs, the role of national patent offices and the
distribution of fees.
The establishment of a Community Patent system has been delayed
several times. In fact, it was first proposed 30 years ago. One
reason for the delay was a failure to agree a suitable court
system. In terms of Monday's agreement, a Community Patent Court
will be set up by 2010 at the latest.
The Community Patent Court shall deal with, among other matters,
disputes over alleged invalidity or infringement and actions for
declarations of non-infringement. A right of appeal will exist to
the Court of First Instance of the European Communities. Until its
establishment, each Member State must nominate national courts to
handle disputes.
The European Patent Office (EPO) will be responsible for
examination of applications and the grant of Community Patents.
However, national patent offices will still advise inventors on
obtaining Community Patents.
The details are contained in pages 15-18 of a 26-page document
that can be downloaded in PDF format from:
http://ue.eu.int/pressData/en/intm/74752.pdf
