EU agreement held up over seat of court

06 December 2011

James Nurton, London and Emma Barraclough, Brussels

EU ministers came close to agreeing a full package of patent reforms last night – but not close enough. The main hurdle that remains to be crossed is the location of the central division of the proposed unified patent court

Speaking late last night, after several hours of discussions, the Polish Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak, who chairs the EU Competitiveness Council, said ministers had reached agreement on the "substantive issues".

These include the fees for the court, language, financial contributions, role of the central division, entry into force, transitional period and revision clause.

EU Commissioner Michel Barnier added: "We are almost at the finishing line and it has been a very long race."

But Pawlak said there was no agreement on the seat of the central division, with at least two delegations unable to sign up to a compromise plan.

It is likely that these two delegations are Germany and the UK as they disagree over whether the court's...

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