European Commission’s IP chief earmarks 2021 for unitary patent
The European Commission’s top IP official has predicted the establishment of a unitary patent system in Europe “before the end of next year”.
Amaryllis Verhoeven, head of the Commission’s IP unit, made the comments on a virtual event hosted on Tuesday, June 9 by IP2Innovate, a corporate group representing the likes of BMW, Daimler, Google, and Spotify.
It is the latest public show of confidence in the project from the Commission in recent weeks after hopes for the Unified Patent Court (UPC) were seemingly dashed in March, when a German court said it was unconstitutional.
Speaking on how Europe’s patent system could be improved, Verhoeven said that we “need a unitary patent” and that she was “confident we will get it”.
“Not before the end of the year, but hopefully before the end of next year,” she continued.
Her remarks come as German officials prepare a new push to ratify the agreement underpinning the UPC.
The Federal Court of Justice’s March decision meant Germany could not ratify the UPC Agreement, one of the last steps required for the new patent court to become operational.
Now, the Ministry of Justice has submitted new draft legislation to ratify the UPC Agreement, Juve Patent reports.
Kevin Mooney, a member of the expert group advising on the implementation of the UPC, said that the “end of 2021 is the earliest we can hope for the court to open”.
While a positive vote on the new German legislation was “expected”, Mooney told WIPR, “we think we need a 12-month preparatory period before the court can open”.
It is not yet clear when German lawmakers will have the chance to vote again on the UPC legislation.
Gregory Bacon, partner at Bristows, called the end of 2021 for the establishment of the unitary patent system a “reasonable best-case scenario”.
“Our view was that it may be a push for the new bill to go to a vote of the Bundestag in full plenary session. The current legislative period ends sometime in late 2021, and although that seems a long way off, the German government and parliament likely has more pressing concerns at present with COVID-19,” Bacon said.
Last month, Thierry Breton, EU commissioner for the internal market, told a European Parliament committee that reforms were still needed to Europe’s patent system, despite the setbacks.
“The EU has a solid framework for IP, but the current system has to become much more effective,” Breton said. “It’s too fragmented and too expensive. And it has to be adapted to the challenges of the digital age and the environment."
Speaking this week, Verhoeven endorsed her Commission colleague’s assessment, adding: “we look forward to the German ratification.”
Leading telecommunications patent owners have reiterated their support for the unitary patent system. Francisco Mingorance, chief executive of IP Europe which includes Nokia, Ericsson, and Orange, described the proposed system as a “gamechanger”.
“Streamlining patent protection across Europe will incentivise greater R&D investment in the EU’s digital innovation ecosystem. The sooner this reform can be introduced, the better,” Mingorance added.
Even if the UPC is established, the UK government has indicated it will play no part in it post-Brexit.
London was initially planned as one of the locations for the court, but a spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in February that: “Participating in a court that applies EU law and bound by the Court of Justice of the European Union is inconsistent with our aims of becoming an independent self-governing nation.”
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