Tag: European Patent Office

Innovative companies could see a dramatic reduction in the cost of patenting new inventions, if a controversial European Commission plan is adopted by EU governments. The new rules could pave the way for a single European patent to be issued in one of just three languages – English, French or German.

The European Patent Office (EPO) has embarked on a detailed study to map the growth in eco-innovation since the introduction of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. The move comes ahead of the next month's UN climate summit in Copenhagen and as major industry players line up behind green technology.

Small, innovative companies should be given special status by the European Patent Office (EPO) in order to remove barriers to intellectual property protection, according to a new report by the Brussels-based Bruegel think-tank.

The European Commission is seeking powers from EU member states to conclude an agreement on a Unified Patent Litigation System (UPLS), which would establish a court with jurisdiction for existing European patents and the future Community patent system.

As Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy makes "one final effort" to break the impasse on the EU community patent, campaigners warn that the Commission's proposal could bring back software patents "through the back door".

After the rejection by the Parliament of the proposed directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions, often dubbed as the "software patents directive", industry and associations are discussing consequences for Europe's patent regime and intellectual property rights (IPR) protection for computer programs. 

The Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee adopted on 20 June the draft directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions. Most of the major amendments  proposed by the rapporteur, Michel Rocard, and other MEPs critical of the proposal were rejected.