European Patent Litigation Agreement

United Kingdom (UK) Statement at the Working Party on Litigation (13 December 2005)

"The UK , on behalf of the member states of the European Union, recognises the importance that industry attaches to the role that the European Patent Litigation Agreement could play in improving the European Patent System. At the Competitiveness Council at the end of November, member states committed themselves to strengthen information and support services on intellectual property, especially for SMEs , support patent authorities increasing their cooperation across borders and pursue work to improve the accessibility and efficiency of Europe's patent system. A litigation system which would reduce the cost and complexity of the European Patent System could have a key part to play in delivering against the Lisbon goals.”

In his speech to the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee on 29 November, Commissioner Charlie McGreevy announced that he intended, over the coming three months, to engage in a dialogue on how to provide Europe with a sound intellectual property rights framework. While the Commission continues to believe that the Community Patent is crucial, another issue to be considered is improvement of the existing framework of the European Patent Office, especially the litigation arrangements.

Our intention is as soon as possible to reach a position where a text can be put to a diplomatic conference. For this purpose, the Commission and member states plan to hold one or two meetings to discuss the technical issues relating to Community involvement in the European Patent Litigation Agreement."