In a vote yesterday, the European Parliament’s legal affairs approved the two regulations establishing the unitary patent (which will initially cover 25 of the 27 EU states) and the accompanying language regime.
The full Parliament is expected to vote on the proposals in February next year, and they are likely to be passed. MEP Cecilia Wikstrom told Managing IP last week: “Nothing is ever perfect but it will be so much better than what we have today, particularly for SMEs and universities.”
But the international agreement on setting up a unified patent court has been held up, with officials blaming the UK, France and Germany for failing to decide where the central division should be located.
That means the Polish presidency will not initial the agreement in a ceremony on December 22, as it wanted.
The country’s European affairs minister Mikołaj Dowgielewicz said on Friday...