EU's Unified Patent Court nears the home straight
This article was originally published in Scrip
One of the last legal barriers to the establishment of the EU's Unified Patent Court (UPC) is expected to fall in mid-year when member state ministers sign off new rules on the jurisdiction of courts and recognition of judgments.
The UPC, which will have specialised jurisdiction in patent disputes, is billed as a way of cutting litigation costs in Europe by avoiding the need to bring multiple actions in up to 28 different national courts. It is part of the wider future framework of patent protection in Europe, which includes the introduction of a unitary patent conferring protection in all signatory EU states.
On 15 April, the European Parliament voted through what is expected to be the "last missing part" in the creation of the new patent framework: a compromise agreement that amends the so called "Brussels I Regulation" to clarify how the court's jurisdictional rules will operate. The compromise agreement was first reached in trilateral talks last December, and was endorsed by member state ministers in March. Now that the parliament has voted, the agreement requires only formal adoption by ministers to become effective – this is expected to happen at the June meeting of the Council of the EU.
Following the parliament vote, EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said that in order to boost innovation in Europe, "businesses and entrepreneurs must know that they can have a swift decision on the validity of patents. Removing bureaucratic obstacles, extra costs and the legal uncertainty will make the EU's single market an even more attractive place to do business."
Separately, an international agreement on the court was signed in February 2013 and has to be ratified by at least 13 EU member states, including France, Germany and the UK. The original deadline for ratifying the agreement was the end of 2013, but as of the end of April, only Austria and France had done so, according to the European Commission's website. The court is expected to become operational sometime in 2016.
Scotland "needs own UPC division"
In the wake of the 15 April vote, Jim Cormack of law firm Pinsent Masons suggested that Scotland should have its own division of the UPC. "Given that Scotland is a country known for research and innovation in a variety of sectors, it is important to have a division of the UPC in Scotland as a means of securing patent rights," he declared. "Ready access to a UPC courthouse, which would rule on unitary patent disputes, and lawyers expert at practising within the jurisdiction, would be important factors in helping Scottish innovators protect their patent rights."
Edinburgh-based Mr Cormack said solicitors and counsel in Scotland had been united in promoting the establishment of the UPC in Scotland, specifically within the Intellectual Property Bill. "On the third reading of the debate on the bill in March this year, the UK government's position was that one of the UK's local divisions would be in Scotland, in the form of the Court of Session, provided that there is a demand for the services of a local division there," he added.