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Structure paper of an optional protocol on the settlement of litigation concerning European patents
At the invitation of the French government, an intergovernmental conference of the member states of the European Patent Organisation on the reform of the patent system in Europe was held in Paris on 24 and 25 June 1999.
Among other things, the conference mandated a working party - chaired jointly by Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland - to present a draft text for an optional protocol to the European Patent Convention which, with regard to litigation concerning European patents, would commit its signatory states to an integrated judicial system, including uniform rules of procedure and a common court of appeal. In only one year, this working group has drawn up a structure paper of an optional protocol on the settlement of litigation concerning European patents, which sets out the basic contents of a judicial system including the main court and procedural rules for a European patent court of first and second instance.
This paper will be presented for information to the participants at the next intergovernmental conference in London on 16 and 17 October 2000. The aim of this publication is to open the widest discussion possible on this matter among the interested circles.