21 February 2013Patents

CIPA calls for economic survey after UPC signing

The Chartered Institute for Patent Attorneys (CIPA) is calling for an economic impact survey, amid concerns about the Unitary Patent (UP)’s impact on British business.

UK business secretary Vince Cable signed the Unitary Patent Court agreement on Tuesday, in a move hoped to benefit small- to medium-sized entities (SMEs) and innovative companies as the cost of filing and protecting patents in Europe is reduced.

However, CIPA, along with other organisations representing legal and industrial bodies in the UK, is concerned about its effect on the competitiveness of UK businesses, and has queried the Unified Patent Court (UPC)’s predicted positive impact on the UK economy.

Writing to IP minister Lord Younger, the organisations have requested that an evidence-based economic impact assessment be completed and “made widely available” before UK parliament ratifies the agreement.

“CIPA has praised the UK government for its successful negotiations last year, resulting in a reduction in the influence of the Europe’s central court, the CJEU [Courts of Justice of the European Union], and in a political agreement that an important section of the Central Court should come to London.

“However, there remain many uncertainties,” a statement on the CIPA website said, referring to the as-yet-undisclosed costs of filing or renewing patents using the new system.

There are also worries about SMEs facing the possibility of pan-European injunctions when litigating their patents.

In a speech given after signing the treaty, Cable said that with the time saved in filing patents and instead invested in research and development, the UPC is estimated to save the UK around £200 million a year.

“Businesses will make savings of up to £20,000 per patent in translation costs alone and many saved hours of form filling,” a statement on the Intellectual Property Office website says.

James Marshall, a partner from Taylor Wessing LLP in London, said that although the SMEs are slated to benefit most from the agreement, the organisations representing them, including the BioIndustry Association, have given the UPC and UP a “cautious welcome”.

“In these circumstances, the government seems unlikely at this stage to back what inevitably would be a very complex and expensive survey,” he said.

He added: “It is very unlikely that the Government would ever seek to leave the UPC, but it might try to renegotiate aspects of it if they prove to be unfavourable to UK businesses. However, doing so would be immensely difficult, given the number of participating countries, and interests, involved.”

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