Barnier seeks to secure agreement on patents
Commission to present a proposal on applicants’ translation obligations.
The European Commission will on 30 June seek to break a long-standing deadlock over the creation of a single EU-wide patent, by presenting a proposal on applicants’ translation obligations.
For more than a decade, translation has been one of the main obstacles in agreeing on what the EU has repeatedly described as one of its economic priorities.
Most aspects of the new patent system, including renewal fees, and co-operation between national patent offices, were agreed in December 2009.
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A draft litigation system is now being studied by the European Court of Justice, at the request of EU industry ministers. The court’s opinion is expected by October at the latest, and if it is positive, the translation obligations will be the sole remaining issue.
Banking on Belgium
Michel Barnier, the European commissioner for the internal market, is hoping that Belgium, which takes over the rotating presidency of the Council of Ministers on 1 July, will be able to broker a quick agreement on the translation question. He has delayed his proposal after deciding that Spain, which currently holds the presidency of the Council of Ministers, and has been one of the most vehement defenders of requiring a wide range of languages for the new patent, was insufficiently committed to getting a deal.
His proposal is now likely to give less prominence to the Spanish language, and to focus, at least for legally binding translations, on English, French and German.