European Union patent law is a subset of
European patent law
European patent law covers a range of legislations including national patent laws, the Strasbourg Convention of 1963, the European Patent Convention of 1973, and a number of European Union directives and regulations. For some states in Eastern ...
. It also serves as the
superset
In mathematics, set ''A'' is a subset of a set ''B'' if all elements of ''A'' are also elements of ''B''; ''B'' is then a superset of ''A''. It is possible for ''A'' and ''B'' to be equal; if they are unequal, then ''A'' is a proper subset of ...
of the patent laws of the individual
member states of the European Union (EU). The most recent (proposed) addition to the range of measures currently in place is the
Directive on criminal measures aimed at ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights. The most recent directive relating specifically to patents is
Directive on the patentability of biotechnological inventions
Directive 98/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 1998 on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions
is a European Union directive in the field of patent law, made under the internal market
provisions of the ...
. Patents are probably the least harmonised area of
intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
laws of the European Union insofar as harmonisation through EU Directives and Regulations is concerned. However, patentability criteria have been substantially harmonized by the
European Patent Convention
The European Patent Convention (EPC), also known as the Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, is a multilateral treaty instituting the European Patent Organisation and providing an autonomous legal system according to w ...
.
"The most noticeable characteristic of the present state of the patent law in the EU is its dualism, i.e. the coexistence of two different ways for obtaining patents with the same effects, namely limited to the territory of the Member State for which they are granted. (...) a
Community patent
The European patent with unitary effect, also known as the unitary patent, is a European patent which will benefit from unitary effect in the participating member states of the European Union. Unitary effect may be requested by the proprietor ...
, i.e. a patent which would cover the entire territory of the EU, have the same effects throughout the EU, which could be revoked centrally, etc., is not available because a great number of EU Member States have not ratified the
1989 Agreement Relating to Community Patents."
"The continuing decentralized administration of European patents in as many as 17 States, in spite of the
Single Market and the
Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
Treaties, is an anachronism for which applicants have to pay dearly. Enforcement is another area where European patent holders must still live with disadvantages unknown to their
US and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese competitors in their own countries.”
[Braendli (1995)]
See also
Regulations
*
Regulation concerning the creation of a supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products (1768/92, 18 June 1992)
*
Regulation concerning the creation of a supplementary protection certificate for plant protection products (1610/96, 23 July 1996)
* Regulation concerning medicinal products for paediatric use (1901/2006, 12 December 2006)
* Regulation implementing enhanced co-operation in the area of creation of unitary patent protection (1257/2012, 17 December 2012)
Directives
*
Directive on the enforcement of intellectual property rights
Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights (also known as "(IPR) Enforcement Directive" or "IPRED") is a European Union directive in the field of intelle ...
(2004/48/EC, 29 April 2004)
*
Directive on the patentability of biotechnological inventions
Directive 98/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 1998 on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions
is a European Union directive in the field of patent law, made under the internal market
provisions of the ...
(98/44/EC, 6 July 1998)
*
Directive on criminal measures aimed at ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights (''proposed'')
*
Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions ''(proposed, then rejected)''
Other
*
IPR-Helpdesk
The IP Helpdesk is a project funded by the European Commission (EC) and a source and guide to patent information. The project was launched in 1998 (at the same time as Espacenet) to be a central reference point for intellectual property inquiries a ...
, EU Commission project
*
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is one of two treaties forming the Treaties of the European Union, constitutional basis of the European Union (EU), the other being the Treaty on European Union (TEU). It was previously ...
(TFEU), Article 118
s:Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union/Title VII: Common Rules on Competition, Taxation and Approximation of Laws#Article 118
Notes
References and further reading
*
Braendli, ''The Future of the European Patent System'', 26
IIC 813-829 (1995)
* Bossung, ''The Return of European Patent Law to the European Union'', 27
IIC 287-315 (1996)
*
Straus, J.,
The Present State of the Patent System in the European Union as Compared with the Situation in the United States of America and Japan',
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
, Luxembourg, 1997.
External links
''Patents''on the web site of the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
,
DG Internal Market and Services
{{Intellectual property laws of the European Union