EU unitary patent system

The Internal Market Commissioner has urged the EU to speed up plans for a single patent system as the current system is too fragmented and expensive.

Speaking to the European Parliament Legal Affairs Committee on 25 May 2020, Thierry Breton said that creating a single patent system was one of his top priorities post-COVID.

Breton went on to say that although the EU has a solid framework for intellectual property it could be improved and should be adapted to meet the challenges of digitalisation and the environment. Breton’s vision is that a single patent system would increase competitiveness and help to develop solutions to share technology.

The current proposal for a single patent system across the EU, the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court, which has been under discussion for many years, is not yet in force. To enter into force the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) must be ratified by the three largest patent granting states, namely France, Germany and the UK. Earlier this year, the UPCA faced two major setbacks. First, although the UK ratified the UPCA after the Brexit referendum, the UK Government said that it no longer intended to take part in the system. Then the German constitutional court ruled in March that the Bundestag’s approval of the UPCA did not have the required majority. We understand that the German Ministry of Justice is drafting an Act of Approval to correct the deficiency but this is unlikely to pass before the end of this year, particularly given world affairs.

Once Germany ratifies the UPCA, the single patent system called for by Thierry Breton can finally come into being. It remains to be seen how quickly this will be given the many setbacks it has suffered along the way, particularly this year, but it is encouraging to see that a single patent system is still on the EU’s agenda post-COVID.