EU agrees new patent system worth £200m to UK economy

The European Union has agreed a one-stop patent system that will make it cheaper and easier for businesses to protect their ideas and designs.

At present, applications to the European Patent Office have to be validated in individual member countries creating extra expense in translations and administration. Under the new system, only one application is needed which could bring savings of £20,000 per patent.

There will also be a huge saving in time as applicants won’t have to fight their case in each European country.

The Unified Patent Court will have centres in different countries including London, which will deal with issues relating to pharmaceuticals and life sciences.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “The decision that London should host this new court shows not only the confidence in our legal sector but also the strength of the UK’s intellectual property regime. Agreement on a unified patent regime is a good result as it will mean defending a patent across Europe will now be much simpler.

“The agreement will help our inventors who can in future spend more time on research and development, producing new ideas and less time filling in forms and defending their patents in court. We estimate benefits to the UK of around £200m a year.”

The new court and patent system is expected to up and running by 2015.

Please contact Jon Alvarez if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of intellectual property law.