Creation of a specialised court for patents

12.3.2010

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1830/10
by Sebastian Valentin Bodu (PPE)
to the Council

Under Article 19 of the Treaty on European Union, the Court of Justice of the European Union includes the Court of Justice proper, the General Court and specialised courts.

At present only one specialised court exists, namely the European Civil Service Tribunal, set up in 2004. The Treaty of Lisbon has introduced a number of changes in the procedure for creating specialised courts, which may now be established by ordinary legislative means.

Now under discussion is the adoption of a regulation on the European patent, which would replace the existing system of 27 national patent regimes with a single patent, to be granted on a

‘one-stop shop’ basis.

Given the above, can the Council explain on what grounds it prefers dispute settlement to take place through a body which is not part of the Community legal system, on the basis of a ‘mixed agreement’, i.e. an international agreement to which the EU is party alongside non-EU countries? Does the Council prefer this option for reasons other than that of the procedural language(s) used?

Does the Council believe that a system of Community recognition of patents, agreed on the basis of a Community regulation by a Community office, is compatible with an extra-Community judicial system?

OJ C 138 E, 07/05/2011