Patent rights within the European Union integration process

Patent protection is ensured in the European Union by two systems, neither of which is based on a Community legislative instrument: the national patent systems and the European patent system. The national patent systems are formed up by the internal laws of the Member States. The European patent system is based on two international agreements, the European Patent Convention and the Community Patent Convention. The European Patent Convention does not create a uniform protection right but it does provide the applicant with protection in as many of the Signatory States as he wishes. The Community Patent Convention is intended to bring together the bundle of protection rights resulting from the grant of a European patent and merge them into a single, unitary and autonomous, protection right valid throughout the Community. But this Convention never came into force due to the delays in ratification by the Member States. The latest effort to create a community patent is the Proposal of the Commission of August 1, 2000 of Council Regulation on the Community patent (Official Journal of the European Communities C 337 E/278 of November 28, 2000). In the future the approval of the Regulation on the Community Patent will have a unitary and autonomous nature, will therefore have the same effects in all the EU territory and shall only be granted, transferred, waived, annulled or expire with regards to the whole Community.Keywords1.Patent2.European Patent System3.National Patent Systems4.European Patent5.Community Patent