EU commissioner wants patent reforms despite UPC setbacks
A top EU official has urged the bloc to step up its efforts to create a single European patent system, arguing the current setup is too expensive and out of touch with the digital age.
Thierry Breton, EU commissioner for the internal market, told a European Parliament committee yesterday, May 25, that the EU had to move quicker on plans to harmonise the patent system across the bloc.
Efforts to do just that have been in the pipeline for more than a decade. This was supposed to be the year that the Unified Patent Court (UPC) would finally be greenlit after a series of legal obstacles.
But just over halfway through 2020, the future of a unified European patent system is as uncertain as ever. In March, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) ruled that the agreement establishing the UPC violated the country’s constitution. The UK, meanwhile, has said it is no longer interested in participating in the project in the wake of Brexit.
Breton’s remarks indicate that there is still a desire from the EU Commission to push ahead with the reforms.
“The EU has a solid framework for IP, but the current system has to become much more effective,” the internal market commissioner said. “It’s too fragmented and too expensive. And it has to be adapted to the challenges of the digital age and the environment."
Breton’s comments have received the backing of IP2Innovate, an industry group that lobbies on behalf of tech and auto companies including Google, BMW and Daimler.
IP2Innovate executive director Patrick Oliver said: “We also share his view that Europe's patent framework needs to be adapted to better suit the challenges of the digital age, and we share his goal of a single European patent.”
He added: “The UPC has the potential to raise the quality and efficiency of the European patent system if implemented well.”
Despite recent setbacks, the EU appears to still be committed to reforming the European patent system. The German FCC ruling had put the entire project in doubt, given Germany’s status as Europe’s biggest economy, and a global patent hub.
But the German government said in March that it was still committed to establishing a “European innovative industry with a single European patent with a European patent court”.
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EU commissioner wants patent reforms despite UPC setbacks
