The unitary patent system which is currently being debated at European Union (EU) level would allow individuals and/or companies to establish a patent in one member state that would be valid throughout the EU.
Attempts at creating a single patent that is valid across all members of the EU have yielded no conclusive results as Spain and Italy have launched legal challenges to Council Decision 2011/167/EU, which aimed at paving the way towards creating a unitary patent protection system. The European Council is seeking to proceed with the creation of such a protection system on the basis of the enhanced co-operation procedure, which does not require unanimity by all the member states.
Attempts by member states to create a unitary form of protection have, in the past, failed as a result of lack of agreement on language and translation arrangements. Spain and Italy have been successfully blocking all attempts to introduce a community patent for over 20 years.
On the other hand, Malta has long been supporting a unitary patent system which will be optional and which will co-exist with current patent systems that are in place. Speaking at a conference organised by the Malta Business Bureau, Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business and Land, Hon. Jason Azzopardi, Parliamentary Secretary expressed his concern at the legal uncertainties that businesses in Europe have to face due to divergent rulings on patent protection.
To date, patent protection across the EU is available by validating a patent granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) in a member country individually or through applications at the national patent authorities. The attempt is at creating a single mechanism for granting unitary patent protection, which would make it easier to obtain both patent protection in multiple countries and enforce such rights. Therefore, this would be of great benefit in that it would grant a wider range of protection through a single application.
At present the key features of the proposed unitary patent protection system include an optional European Patent granted by the EPO, unitary effect given to the patent at the patentee’s request, an introduction of an automated translation system that would reduce time and cost of translation as well as the creation of a unified patent litigation system that would include a Court of First Instance, a Court of Appeal and a Registry. Under a unitary patent system, registration and renewal fees would be paid to the EPO.
This unitary patent could possibly enter into force in 2014 and once it becomes effective, it would probably bring about a number of changes to the Maltese IP scenario.
