FEBRUARY 2007
Time runs out for patent reform
Plans to implement the European Patent Litigation Agreement - touted as the answer to Europe's patent dispute woes - are in trouble. Emma Barraclough looks at the cause of the impasse and asks what the European Commission will do next
It all began with such optimism. Two years earlier, member states had crushed IP owners' hopes that national governments could agree plans for a Community patent. But here, at the start of 2006, was EU Internal Markets Commissioner McCreevy kick-starting a moribund debate by launching a consultation on the future of EU patent policy in a bid to boost innovation, make patenting cheaper and easier, and cut enforcement costs.
The rest of this article is available to subscribers only. Subscribe today for full access to this article.
Alternatively take a free trial, giving you access to the current issue's contents*
If you are already a subscriber, please log in below to access the rest of this article.
*excludes some surveys and articles.