Strasbourg, 11 December 2012
New inventions will soon be easier and cheaper to protect from copying thanks to proposals for a European Patent which was finally approved by MEPs in Strasbourg today (Tuesday).
The vote follows an astonishing 30 years of wrangling over detail, but was welcomed by Sajjad Karim, the lead ECR MEP negotiating the package. He called it ?a major advance for the intellectual-property rights of inventors, scientists and others at the cutting edge of technology and innovation?.
He said: ?It has been a long time coming, but this package of measures should offer reassurance to our brightest and best. It will now be simpler for them to ensure they see the fruits of their work instead of having their ideas exploited by others.?
The package approved today will allow 25 out of the 27 EU countries to go ahead with a single patent under a so-called ?enhanced co-operation? procedure.
Currently, it is estimated that the cost of registering a patent to cover the whole of the USA is ten times less than one to cover only half of the EU.
Mr Karim said: ?European-wide patent looked as though it might be one of those great ideas that never got off the ground. But thankfully we have been able to secure a breakthrough and achieve some broad agreement to see the plan progress.
?Small and large businesses will benefit from being able to protect their innovations across much of Europe. That is the encouragement we need for our innovators and entrepreneurs ? the people we will rely on to lift Europe?s economy out of the doldrums.
?The current fragmented regime has been a major handicap to our competitiveness.?
Mr Karim, ECR spokesman on legal affairs in the European Parliament, was critical of a move by UKIP MEPs to oppose the deal despite never having raised concerns in committee.
He said: ?Their spurious charge was that the move meant a loss of sovereignty and even potential damage the UK?s legal services sector. Nothing could be further from the truth.
?In fact the deal secured strengthens the UK?s role in the legal framework. Rather than eroding sovereignty, the measures guarantee that UK businesses will not have to litigate all across Europe but under a single court system which uses English as one of its main languages.
?Because of that we were able to secure the location in Britain of one of the key divisions of the unitary court system and that will provide important jobs for the UK?s widely-respected legal-services profession and associated services.
?I?d call it a win-win deal, but sadly UKIP are so full of their own bluster they can?t see what?s best for Britain.?
Note to editors:
The new EU patent will simplify and streamline Europe?s patent law framework. Rather than requiring businesses to validate, renew and defend their patents under the legal system of each member state to which they wish the patent to apply, the new system will deliver unitary patents applicable across Europe which are granted under a single system. Litigation will also be simplified under the new plans, as patent holders will only be subject to the unitary patent court?s jurisdiction and will not be subject to court proceedings in multiple jurisdictions with potentially divergent outcomes, as is the case today. These two advances will allow a significant reduction in costs for patent applicants and holders.
The new plans also cater specifically for SMEs, in particular in relation to fees charged under the granting scheme. These will take specific account of the circumstances of SMEs, further facilitating their access to the unitary patent.
As well as reducing costs, the EU patent will help to complete the single market. The present system leads to fragmentation, as companies choose for reasons of cost and legal certainty to narrow the scope of their patents to only a few member states. Under the new system the advantage of unitary application and litigation will encourage companies to enter new markets which will be covered under the extended protection, fostering growth and new commercial opportunities.
For further information contact:
John Furbisher
Tel:+33 388 17 3935 (Strasbourg)
Mobile: +32 498 984760
Email: john.furbisher@europarl.europa.eu
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Source: http://ecrgroup.eu/?p=7730
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