EC Launches New Effort to Revamp European Patent System

The European Commission (EC) recently set out its vision, in the form of a Communication to the European Parliament and to the Council, for a fresh look at the various options to overhaul the current patent system in Europe. Following a 2006 stakeholder consultation, the EC found widespread dissatisfaction with the current scheme of national patent rules in the 27-country bloc. According to the EU's Internal Market and Services Commissioner, securing a patent for only one-half the countries in the EU can cost more than 10 times as much as it does in the US and 13 times what it costs in Japan. A previous attempt to harmonize the system in 2005 failed, largely over disputes on how to treat software patentability. This time the EC is urging a mixture of two previously recommended approaches: creating a system strongly inspired by the failed European Patent Litigation Agreement but integrating the content of that initiative into the existing chain of EU judicial bodies. For the EC Press Release (IP/07/463) dated 3 April 2007, see: http://tinyurl.com/2h5clr (On this page is a link to a comprehensive backgrounder on the broad issue of patent reform in Europe). For a general news article from The Wall Street Journal, visit: http://tinyurl.com/2ys3pp Summary by: The Editor