Patent failure 'deeply disappointing'

Brussels has blasted national capitals for failing to deliver on a new European patent.

A European Commission spokesman admitted that chances for a breakthrough at a Thursday meeting of Europe's competition ministers are slim.

“The European Commission is deeply disappointed the states have failed to agree on this measure,” said a spokesman for EU internal market commissioner Frits Bolkestein.

“We are not in a ‘flying pig’ situation, but the chances [of agreement] are not enormous,” he continued.

“If there was an example of ministers’ declarations failing to fulfil actions on the ground – this is it.”

Ministers reached political agreement on the EU patent in March last year, but stopped short of adopting the measures into law.

The measures designed to boost comeptiveness by harmonising the registration of innovations in Europe through the European Patent Office in Munich.

Sticking points preventing a breakthrough on the patent focus on two language issues: delays in translation of the patent claims and the validity of patents with errors in their translation.

EU member states retain the right to translate the patent claims into national langauges for effect in the union.

The commission, in a watered down bid to push the laws through, has tabled a compromise offer of a nine month threshold for the delay.

Brussels also claims that the EU patent proposals, if agreed, will halve the cost of patent registration from €50,000 to €25,000 for the 25 member states from May 1, when the EU expands by a further 10 countries.

But this figure is still higher than patent registration in the US and Japan, admitted the spokesman.
 
An EU 'Patent Court' will also be set up to hear disputes, a move which Brussels hopes will reduce legal uncertainty caused by individual challenges in each of the EU member states.

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