In an open letter to Herman van Rumpuy, he accuses EU officials of negotiating the deal without proper transparency.
“[T]he details of how this dossier has been handled by the instances in Brussels over the last six months show such an amount of undemocratic behavior that few people in Europe would have imagined,” he writes.
“The multiplication of compromises has resulted in an unworkable solution which industry will no longer wish to use because of serious drafting errors of people who obviously have no practical experience in patent litigation and are not interested in any advice of those who have.”
Pagenberg, a partner in German IP firm Bardehle Pagenberg, goes on to say that there is not enough time before the end of the Danish presidency on June 30 to devote to remedying problems in the patent deal.
The letter was copied to officials from the Danish government and the European Commission, members of the European Parliament who have followed the patent package debates closely, and to journalists.
His last-ditch attempt to urge politicians to rethink the unitary patent package come on the day that ministers in charge of IP policy across the EU meet in Brussels to discuss the issue.
The Council’s deliberations are normally broadcast live. But Managing IP understands that the patent discussions will not be shown as they relate to an international agreement rather than EU legislation.
EU negotiators say that the location of the central division is the only issue to be resolved before the unitary patent and unified patent court can be agreed.
Meanwhile, a group of lawyers and judges submitted a final proposal this month on the rules of procedure for the court to the European Commission. The draft incorporates suggestions made in 31 responses received from industry and professional bodies across the EU and runs to some 162 pages including edits.
