When the European Patent Lawyers Association (EPLAW) arranged a meeting in Venice to discuss patent litigation reform in October 2005, no one expected the gathering to produce much more than discussion. After all, patent reform has been a controversial subject in the EU for two decades, and political bickering continues to stall progress at the European Commission.
But the conference’s participants included 24 patent judges from 10 European countries, whom EPLAW invited to give their input on the controversy. Most observers expected the jurists to keep a low profile. Instead they surprised everyone by demanding the creation of a unified European patent court. Indeed, Lord Justice Jacob, a signatory and one of the U.K.’s most senior IP judges called the judicial lobbying action “thoroughly unusual.”
