Europe set to streamline patent rules

UK businesses are set to save millions of pounds a year as a single European patent came a step closer following agreements by ministers at a meeting of the Competitiveness Council in Luxembourg.

Ministers meeting on 27 June agreed on the languages regime for the patent – the number of translations which applicants need to file to get their patent – and on the technical details of the patent itself.

As a result it will be easier and cheaper to register patents, with far fewer translations required than at present. The availability of a single patent for the European market is set to act as an incentive for innovation and will enhance the competitiveness of European businesses.

UK Intellectual Property Minister Baroness Wilcox said:  “The savings to UK business are likely to be around £20 million per year in translations costs alone.”

The measures will be adopted later in the year. A recent independent review of Intellectual Property and Growth by Professor Ian Hargreaves found that establishing a unitary patent would remove intellectual property barriers between EU countries and could increase UK national income by over £2 billion a year by 2020.

LINK: Press release on patent unification