James Nurton
Patent office heads in Europe have greeted with scepticism European Commission plans to cut patent costs by 75%.
On pages 12 and 13 of the European Economic Recovery Plan, published on November 26, the Commission recommends that the 27 EU member states “reduce administrative burdens and promote entrepreneurship”.
Its recommendations include: “Reduce by up to 75% the fees for patent applications and maintenance and halve the costs for an EU trademark.”But, speaking at the IP Summit in Brussels on December 4, Benoît Battistelli, director general of France’s IP office, said any such incentives should be targeted at certain groups, such as SMEs.
France introduced a 50% discount on patent application fees for SMEs in 2005, he added. Guus Broesterhuizen, president of the Dutch patent office, said the proposal was an “over reaction” and “would lead to the EPO coming to a standstill”.Speaking on the same panel, Stefan Walz of the Federal Ministry of Justice in Germany said that a better way to reduce costs for SMEs would be for all EU countries to join the London Agreement, which reduces translation requirements for European patents.
The Commission’s proposal is part of a €200 billion plan to kick-start the European economy.But the head of one EU patent office told Managing IP the proposal was headline-grabbing, rather than practical: “If you want a good, secure, quality patent, that takes resources. It costs money.”
From:www.managingip.com
