EU Patent Reform: “Cypriot compromise” compromised,

Article on the measures used to push through the “unitary patent package” (Published on 20/04/2015)

As things presently stand, the CJEU will announce its judgments in Spain’s nullity actions against the two Regulations on unitary patent protection and the language regime on 5 May 2015. As is known, one of the asserted nullity reasons is the lack of a legal basis after the replacement of former Articles 6 to 8 by the current Article 5. New backgrounds which have surfaced on this approach most recently, initially sold to the public as “compromise by the Cypriot Council Presidency”, suggest that this “compromise” had a much different origin. It had already been reported that efforts were made – apparently involving the German Ministry of Justice – to publicly present the Spanish actions as lacking any prospects of success in the specialist press. Not known yet were the endeavours undertaken to bring this article to the attention of the CJEU. A report on the measures used to pave the way for the “unitary patent package”.

  • Download English version (article of 20/04/2015, PDF)
  • Download German version (article of 20/04/2015, PDF)

Resources:

  • Link to Stjerna, The Parliamentary History of the European “Unitary Patent” (Tredition 2016)
  • Link to the video recording of the Legal Affairs Committee meeting on 05/11/2013
  • Verbatim protocol of the Legal Affairs Committee meeting on 05/11/2013 (English version, PDF)
  • Verbatim protocol of the Legal Affairs Committee meeting on 05/11/2013 (German version, PDF)
  • Verbatim protocol of the Legal Affairs Committee meeting on 05/11/2013 (Original languages, PDF)
  • E-mail correspondence with the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Prof. Tilmann re his article in EIPR 2014, 4 ff. (English [translation] or German [original], PDF)
  • E-mail correspondence with the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Prof. Tilmann re his work as an advisor (English [translation] or German [original], PDF)
  • Screenshot of the “InfoCuria” page of proccedings C-146/13 and C-147/13 of 08/02/2014 (PDF)
  • Screenshot of the “InfoCuria” page of proccedings C-146/13 and C-147/13 of 08/07/2014 (PDF)
  • E-mail correspondence with Sabine Hackspiel, Director of the CJEU “Research and Documentation Directorate” between 9 July and 20 October 2014 (PDF)
  • E-mail from the CJEU “Research and Documentation Directorate” of 26 June 2014 on the requirements for listing an article in the “InfoCuria” pages’ section “Notes on Academic Writings” (PDF)


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