By
James DeGiulio —

Earlier
this year, we reported that the European Competitiveness Council unanimously
adopted a legislative package designed to create a single EU Patent and EU
Patent court (see "Europe Takes Step Closer to Single EU Patent and Patent
Court").  However, as noted, EU Patent
translations remained a sticking point in the December 2009 legislative
package, ending with the Council declining to address translation arrangements.  Rather, it was suggested that they should be handled in a separate regulation.

On
July 1, the European Commission released its latest EU Patent proposal, particularly seeking a compromise over EU Patent translation
arrangements.  Despite the fact that Europe's businesses have long supported the
simplification of the language regime, preserving national languages under the
new system is still important to some member states, even if it is not
commercially feasible.  A European patent validated in 13 EU countries today
costs about €20,000, of which nearly €14,000 is spent on translation.  According
to the Commission, an equivalent U.S. patent will cost about €1,850.  Under the current proposal, costs for
an EU patent covering 27 member states would be less than €6,200, only 10
percent of which would be due to translations.

If
the proposal succeeds, applicants could file for a patent in any language, and
the EPO will examine and grant patents in English, French, or German.  The granted EU Patent will include
translations of the claims in all three official languages.  According to the Commission, most of
Europe's patents are already filed in those languages.  No other translations will be necessary
unless a legal dispute arises over the patent.  In the case of legal disputes,
an alleged infringer or the court may require that the patent holder provide a
translation into the official language of a particular EU member state.

However,
the proposal still faces resistance from certain EU members, such as Spain and
Italy.  This is significant, for
the European Council must unanimously agree to the current translation
arrangement proposal before the patent system becomes official.

James
DeGiulio has a doctorate in molecular biology and genetics from
Northwestern University and is a graduate of Northwestern
University
School of Law.  Dr. DeGiulio is a member of MBHB's 2010 associate class
and he can be
contacted at degiulio@mbhb.com.