The question of the seat of the central division of the future European patent litigation court system is scuppering the proposal for the European patent once again. The Polish Minister for European and Economic Affairs, Mikolaj Dowgielewicz, acknowledged the failure, on 16 December, of the negotiations on the question of the location of the seat of the central division.

“We have our backs to the wall: one or two member states are not willing to compromise and there will not be a breakthrough before the end of our Presidency,” he regretted.

IMPASSE

The 25 ministers whose capitals are committed to enhanced cooperation on the future unitary European patent protection (Italy and Spain are opposed to the translation rules and are not participating) ended up in an impasse, at the Competitiveness Council on 5 December, on this key issue of the patent court system, which requires an intergovernmental agreement (see Europolitics 4321). London, Munich and Paris were candidates. The Council Presidency’s choice of Paris caused the ‘losers’ to dig in their heels apparently. The future Danish Presidency will therefore inherit this touchy issue.

The Presidency and the European Parliament’s negotiators worked out an agreement, on 2 December, on the other aspects of the future patent: the regulation (co-decision) on grant of the future patent and the regulation establishing the translation arrangements (319 and 4320).