EC Seeks to Use Enhanced Cooperation to Guide Future Patent Discussions

Despite a dispute over languages, the European Commission (EC) hopes to move forward this year with a unified patent system. Recognizing that it cannot get unanimous agreement on a proposed European Community patent, the EC has appealed to the European Council to pursue a revised patent system through enhanced cooperation. The push for a unified patent bogged down last year when the proposal called for the patent system to use English, French and German — the official languages of the EU. But Spain and Italy argued that such a system discriminated against their languages.
International Medical Device Regulatory Monitor