The desire of the majority of users of the European Patents System for a cheaper and uniform alternative to what currently exists has manifested itself in two parallel initiatives. The first is very much a revisitation of a hoary old chestnut that has hitherto seen many false dawns. The second is a much more recent notion – a European Patent Litigation Agreement (EPLA), which will create a specialised court system and procedure for litigating European patents within signatory states of the European Patent Convention.
Much work has been expended on the EPLA and undoubted progress achieved in forging the basis of an agreement for a harmonised system and litigation procedure. Now the EPLA lies becalmed while we wait to see if the European Commission (EC) can finally deliver on the first of the initiatives, namely the introduction of a single patent for the whole of the European Union (EU) subject to a discrete jurisdictional system – a community patent (Compat).
