European patent

The European Parliament and Council have reached agreement over new legislation to create a Unitary European Patent and Unified Patent Court by April 2014. This would mean a single patent applied for and granted centrally at the European Patent Office would be effective in all EU states except for Italy and Spain.

Alan Johnson, partner at Bristows, says there are concerns within the industry that the new regime is being pushed through too quickly without considering the full implications.

“Whether the numerous practical problems identified will make for a system which is cheaper and better, or in fact worse and more expensive, that the present national systems, remains to be seen”, he added.