Patent Law Practice Center

Patent Litigation Forum Shopping in the EU

Our friends at DLA Piper sent in this article discussing the current European patent system and how unfortunately the goal of consistent interpretation throughout member states is not always achieved.

A granted European patent provides the owner with a bundle of independent, national patent rights for those EU member states in which the patent has been validated. Once the period for the centralized procedure has passed, patents are generally enforced or revoked at a national level. In some national courts (for instance, the UK and the Netherlands), validity and infringement proceedings are commonly heard together, whereas other nations (notably, Germany) have separate courts to determine validity and infringement.

The European Patent Convention provides the central legal framework and sets out the substantive basis for determining ownership, patentability and infringement for European patents. The Protocol to Article 69 of the EPC provides some guidance; however, interpretation of substantive issues is left to the national courts. Although the goal is consistent interpretation throughout member states, individual national courts apply the principles differently. (more…)