The Community patent and the patent system in Europe, with evidence / House of Lords, Select committee on the European Communities.

  • Great Britain. Parliment. House of Lords. Select Committee on the European Communities.
Date:
1998
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: The Community patent and the patent system in Europe, with evidence / House of Lords, Select committee on the European Communities. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    98/144 (page 66)
    1 April 1998] [Continued PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS 19. Under Directive 89/48/EEC professional qualifications acquired in one member state must be recognised throughout the Community but member states are entitled to require the person concerned either to undergo an adaptation period or to take an aptitude test. The Green Paper asks whether the qualifying examination that patent agents must pass before being allowed to represent applicants before the European Patent Office could be deemed an adequate qualification for making representations to the national patent offices. ADDITIONAL MEASURES TO MAKE THE PATENT SYSTEM MORE ATTRACTIVE 20. Recognising the costs associated with enforcing a patent the Green Paper asks for views on some form of legal costs insurance which could be financed individually by each patent holder, an insurance pool joined on a voluntary basis or by all businesses in a given sector, or by public financing (or part-financing). THE EUROPEAN PATENT 21. The European Patent Office is an international organisation set up under the European Patent Convention and is independent of the Community. The Green Paper asks whether the current structure of this Office entails any disadvantages for users which should be addressed by a different legal structure more closely integrated into Community law. The cost of the European patent 22. With effect from 1 July 1997 the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation reduced the level of some procedural fees and gave applicants a longer period in which to pay others. On the assumption that there will be some further scope for reducing fees further in the future, the Green Paper asks what fees should be reduced. The Paper also seeks views on a suggestion that SMEs, individual inventors and universities should pay a special lower scale of fees. The distribution of revenue from renewal fees paid on European patents 23. Once a European patent has been granted it effectively becomes a national patent for each of the designated states and renewal fees are payable directly to the authorities of those states. Currently 50 per cent of the renewal fee is passed on to the European Patent Office as a contribution towards its costs. The way in which the revenue retained by contracting states is used varies. The Green Paper states that in some states the retained share of renewal fees is not allocated to activities linked to the operation of the national patent office or used to promote innovation. The Green paper asks for views on the use of European patent renewal fees by contracting states and in particular whether it is appropriate to use this money partly to finance national patent systems. Translations of European patents 24. The Green Paper estimates that European industry spends some £143 million per year on translating/validating European patents and ask for views of the “package solution” developed by the European Patent Office and described in paragraph 10 above. MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY 25. The President of the Board of Trade has primary responsibility. LEGAL AND PROCEDURAL ISSUES 26. None. This is not a proposal for legislation. SUBSIDIARITY 27. There is an important role for Community-wide action in the field of patents, particularly when this would lead to reduced costs with greater certainty and transparency for those involved in seeking and opposing patent rights. Moreover, national regimes, to the extent that they do not disturb the Internal Market, are also important. Any Community action in this area should therefore aim to improve the synergies that presently exist