"Technology Commercialization in Europe after the Failure of the Community Patent"

Schmiemann, Manfred and Lockner, Rebekah. (2005) "Technology Commercialization in Europe after the Failure of the Community Patent". In: UNSPECIFIED. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

The current patent system in Europe contains aspects that are both centralized and decentralized. A patent system user needs only to submit a single patent application to the European Patent Office (EPO), but when the patent is granted the result is not a single patent but a "bundle" of national patents. The patent becomes effective in each of the designated Member States once a translation in one of that Member State’s official languages is filed. In addition, infringement needs to be litigated in each individual country and can become quite costly and fragmented. The question has arisen whether the lack of a Community patent after its apparent failure in 2004 endangers the commercialization of technology in Europe.

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