The Present State Of The Patent System In The European Union

'It is no longer possible to practice, teach, or study purely domestic intellectual property law within Europe. European intellectual property norms now structure protection throughout the continent (and even beyond). Paradoxically, what might seem as a simplification of legal rules has created a maze of new complexities substantive, institutional and methodological. This collection by some of the leading scholars in European IP manages to capture that complexity without sacrificing clarity. Canvassing the entire field with a rich array of contributions, the book both highlights the roots of European IP law and asks important fundamental questions about where it is going. One can only hope that it is read by anyone with a hand in the future development of European IP law.' Graeme B. Dinwoodie, University of Oxford, UK 'Christophe Geiger has put together a very fine collection of essays by many of the very best scholars in European intellectual property law. The essays explore the basis, extent, as well as the successes and failings of regional harmonization of trade marks, geographical indications, copyright, designs, patents and remedies. The celebrated cast of authors naturally discuss, in addition to the various directives and regulations on each topic, the Treaty provisions on exhaustion of rights and competition (and their interpretation), relevant provisions on legislative competence, Article 17(2) of the Charter, other fundamental rights, and the growing case law of the Court of Justice. There is essential material here for anyone interested in European intellectual property law, as well as ideas for the improvement and further development of European IP law.' Lionel Bently, University of Cambridge, UK Constructing European Intellectual Property offers a comprehensive assessment of the current state of intellectual property legislation in Europe and gives direction on how an improved system might be achieved. This detailed study presents various perspectives on what further actions are necessary to provide the circumstances and tools for the construction of a truly balanced European intellectual property system. The book takes as its starting point that the ultimate aim of such a system should be to ensure sustainable and innovation-based economic growth while enhancing free circulation of ideas and cultural expressions. Being the first in the European Intellectual Property Institutes Network (EIPIN) series, this book lays down some concrete foundations for a deeper understanding of European intellectual property law and its complex interplay with other fields of jurisprudence as well as its impact on a broad array of spheres of social interaction. In so doing, it provides a well needed platform for further research. Academics, policymakers, lawyers and many others concerned with establishment of a regulatory framework for intangibles in the EU will benefit from the extensive and thoughtful discussion presented in this work.

The book provides a critical overview of innovation policy in Europe and a synopsis of the current institutional framework of Europe shaped after the Europe2020 strategy and in view of the upcoming Horizon2020 agenda. What emerges is a rather gloomy outlook for the future of Europe's innovation, unless EU institutions and Member States will decide to streamline existing policies and build a "layered" model of innovation, in which governments act as investors in key enabling infrastructure such as ICT and education; as enablers of large technology markets where researchers and entrepreneurs can meet; and as purchasers of innovation when key societal challenges are at stake. The book contains proposals for the future innovation strategy of the EU and a specific analysis of areas such as the unitary patent, the transfer of technology (particularly as far as climate-related technologies and IP markets are concerned), standardization, and the digital agenda.

Why does society allow, or even encourage, private appropriation of inventions? When do patents encourage competition, when do they hamper it? These questions and many more are addressed by two eminent scholars in this groundbreaking analysis of the economic foundations of the European patent system.

In 2013, twenty-five Member States of the European Union decided to take European patenting and patent enforcement to a next level. They agreed on a common patent title and a common patent court, i.e. the new Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court. Unfortunately, the implementation phase of the new patent package appeared to be a bumpy ride: non-participating Member States attacked the legal texts before the EU Court of Justice, the Rules of Procedure of the Unified Patent Court were subject to extensive debates, the Brexit caused the UK to step out of the system, an action before the constitutional court in Germany resulted in years of delay, etc. Nevertheless, the unitary patent package appeared to be a survivor. On 1 June 2023, the Unified Patent Court could finally open its doors with seventeen EU participating Member States. At the same time the first Unitary Patents could officially be registered. From then on, companies, research institutions, and individuals are able to obtain not only a patent title with immediate effect in the participating EU Member States, but also a court decision on infringement or validity of a European or Unitary Patent with immediate effect in all the participating Member States. The authors of this book, one being a leading Belgian IP lawyer who had a hand in the legal texts of the Unitary Patent and the other being a reputed Belgian intellectual property appeal judge who is currently (part-time) UPC judge at the local division in Brussels, were the first in 2013 to publish an introduction to the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court. In 2017, they published the first edition of the current book. In this second edition of the book, they now present a comprehensive description of all aspects of this new patent and enforcement system. This book not only describes in detail all the provisions regarding the new patent and the new court, but also explains the history and the rationale behind certain choices. This book unravels all legal texts regarding the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court, including the Rules of Procedure and all other Rules governing the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court. This book also includes flowcharts summarizing the important phases of the proceedings before the Unified Patent Court. For its deeply informed insights into the practical functioning of this revolutionary new patent and litigation system, this extraordinary book is a must-have on the bookshelf of anyone involved or interested in European patenting.

Technological progress generally is not disruptive but sequential. Innovations build on prior innovations, typically by presenting improvements or complements. Under patent law, such follow-on innovation meets with an obstacle if the use of the invention underlying it infringes a prior patent, and if, for one reason or another, the owner of that prior patent prefers, as it may, to refuse granting a license. It is only in case the follow-on (or “second”) invention involves an important technical advance of considerable economic significance in relation to the invention claimed in the prior (or “first”) patent that in Europe, in accordance with Art. 31 TRIPS, national patent laws provide for a right of the owner of the second patent to obtain, by way of a decision of the patent office or of a court, a dependency license. By contrast, the EU's system of unitary patent protection does not provide for a dependency licensing regime. Instead, Reg. 1257/2021 on the European patent with unitary effect refers the matter to national law. This means that despite the importance of its invention the owner of a dependent patent will never obtain a mandatory license covering the Internal Market but only territorially limited national licenses for which it must apply separately in each Member State, go through multiple different procedures and comply with different national requirements. The absurdity of such hindering of follow-on innovation in the Internal Market by regulatory abstention is no less as regards national patents that the European Patent Office grants as a bundle in the form of the European patent and that are now additionally held together by the uniform infringement rules of the Unified Patent Court Agreement. After all, that category of a European patent is supposed to represent an equivalent alternative to the unitary patent and, therefore, ought to meet the same Internal Market requirements. Therefore, this study proposes to harmonize Member States' dependency licensing regimes and to complement the system of unitary patent protection accordingly. To this end, it presents the common principles of national regimes, analyzes the particular need for and characteristics of modern mandatory licensing rules and discusses the deficits of alternative approaches that might be available under EU competition law. A particular stress is put on distinguishing dependency licensing from compulsory licensing in the public interest, and on the functional complementarity existing between incentivizing inventions by patent protection and stimulating follow-on innovation by mandatory licensing regimes.

This book provides an in-depth study on current perceptions of, and responses to, fragmentation in the European patent system (EPS). For decades, attempts have been made to address this fragmentation by introducing a unitary patent system. The most recent attempt, the EU unitary patent system, will be the first of its kind. It is expected to significantly change the EPS. However, rather than reducing existing fragmentation, it will likely add to it. Based on an analysis of the current and forthcoming system, the book argues that the inherent nature of fragmentation within the EPS needs to be recognised and suggests that a multifaceted approach is required to respond to it. Uniquely, it draws on work regarding fragmentation outside of the patent and intellectual property regimes, gaining insights from both European law-making and the international legal system. These insights are used to investigate current responses to fragmentation in the EPS. Interpretations of substantive patent law are examined, including claim construction (Actavis v Eli Lily), exceptions to patentability related to uses of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes (WARF, Brüstle, ISCC), and products resulting from essentially biological processes (Broccoli and Tomatoes II, G3/19). Attempts towards convergence in these areas have had mixed results and in some instances fragmentation may be necessary. However, similar techniques to those applied in the international legal system to respond to fragmentation are being used in the EPS, and, where this is seen, it has been to good effect. It is argued that these methods should be recognised, structured, and promoted to make our response to fragmentation more effective. Fragmentation and the European Patent System will be of interest to academics, students and practitioners looking for a new perspective on the EPS.

The book is explaining in detail the current discussion regarding the unification of European patent law. It explains the current national legal practices in Europe, describing the legal and factual issues and the different approaches to achieve unification. The book manages to show the complex situation and the different opinions from the beginning of the discussion in a clear and comprehensive manner without requiring previous knowledge of the reader and is therefore to be recommended for everyone interested. Jochen Pagenberg, LL.M. Harvard, President EPLAW, Germany and Thomas Schachl, LL.M., Attorney-at-law, Germany In his detailed study, Stefan Luginbuehl critically examines the latest efforts to establish a common European and EU patent litigation system and suggests possible alternatives to such a system. Due to the lack of a European patent court, both the EPO and national judges interpret European patents and European patent law. This results in diverging interpretation across Europe and costly litigation for patent holders. Stefan Luginbuehl s proposals to promote the goal of a uniform interpretation of patent law and ease the difficulties are timely and highly insightful. Dealing with important legal and political issues related to European patent litigation and the establishment of a common patent litigation system, this book will appeal to practitioners, patent litigators, patent attorneys and judges specialised in patent litigation. Academics teaching and learning IP (patent law), private international law, or international civil procedure, will find this study interesting as the book deals with important aspects of national and international patent litigation, as well as procedural and structural questions related to the establishment of a patent court for Europe.

In practice and jurisprudence in European competition law, it is especially difficult to define the boundaries of patent abuse as an offence. In this thoroughly researched book, the author answers the question of when and how an application for a blocking patent can amount to an abuse of a dominant position under Article 102 TFEU. Drawing on legal literature and European Union (EU) case law, the presentation analyses a constellation of blocking patenting strategies and proposes potential remedies where abuse is involved. With detailed descriptions of the characteristics of potentially abusive and non-abusive behaviour regarding applications for blocking patents, the book provides the following and more: a comprehensive analysis of the case law of the EU courts on the abuse of a dominant position in cases which involve intellectual property rights; insights on how patenting strategies affect competition with a particular focus on the application of blocking patents; an overview of the developments in doctrine and practice which led to the current understanding of the seemingly conflictual goals of competition and intellectual property law; and insights on the difficulties of defining relevant markets and establishing whether an undertaking holds a dominant position. The book illustrates the mechanisms of blocking patenting strategies with examples from the pharmaceutical industry because blocking strategies have particular relevance in applying for patents in that context. A test scheme for analysing the application of a blocking patent under Article 102 TFEU is included. Additionally, the book provides an outlook on the topic of patents and shortages of supply in light of the COVID pandemic. Practitioners and policymakers requiring an understanding of the conceptual framework of the abuse concept within EU competition law and how it relates to patent strategies will welcome this invaluable book. They will not only be able to set the conduct of applying for blocking patents into the Article 102 TFEU context but also have decisive tools to approach questions on the intersection of patent law and competition law in the EU.