Court setback for Europe’s patent plans
24 August 2010
Emma Barraclough, London
Plans for a single European patent litigation system and an EU patent have been dealt a serious blow by legal advisers at Europe’s top court
In an
unofficial copy of their Opinion document
, the Advocates General to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJ) say that the
agreement proposed by the Commission
to create a Unified Patent Litigation System (UPLS) is incompatible with the EU Treaty.
The document, dated July 2, is understood to have been circulated to member states, some of whom distributed it more widely among their advisers. It was then posted on two legal blogs.
A spokesman for the CJ told
Managing IP
that Opinions of the Advocates General relating to proposed agreements with third parties are normally only published with the CJ's ruling, or following it - if at all. He could not confirm the authenticity of the document.
Assuming that the document is genuine, and will not be revised further, its conclusions are likely to disappoint proponents of the proposed Agreement creating a Unified Patent Litigation...
Only subscribers have complete access to Managing IP Magazine,
log in or
subscribe now.
Alternatively take a
free trial, giving you 48-hour access to Managing IP Magazine (some articles and surveys may be excluded).
Subscribe Now
This article is available to subscribers. Please click subscribe to read the rest of the article.
Subscribe
Take a free trial
Please take a free 48-hour trial to gain limited access. Some articles and surveys may be excluded.
Take a free trial