COMPANIES AND entrepreneurs will be able to take out pan-European patents on their products after EU member states set aside years of division to agree a new patents system.

The unanimous deal was reached at a meeting of industry and enterprise ministers in Brussels after Denmark dropped objections to aspects of the plan.

The measures agreed yesterday will bring about a single EU patent and establish a new patent court in the EU, simplifying the process of protecting technology rights and making litigation more accessible and predictable.

It should also curtail the cost of taking out international patents. According to the European Commission, a patent designating only 13 EU member states is already 11 times more expensive than a US patent.

The plan depends on forthcoming opinion from the European Court of Justice on the compatibility of the system with the EU treaties. It also depends on a solution being found for translation arrangements, measures which will be subject of separate European regulations.

“Businesses have been calling for a more affordable EU patent and a more accessible patent court system that offers legal certainty,” said outgoing internal markets commissioner Charlie McCreevy.

“After over 40 years of talk and more talk, the political action achieved today paves the way towards a single EU patent, reducing the costs and cutting the red tape that every single company has to go through to protect their new technology.”

The political deal on the new system sets out the main features of a future patent court in the EU. The debate now moves to the European Parliament, which must approve the measures before they become law.

A specialised patent court would allow cases to be heard before expert judges, the European Commission said.

“A unified court will also mean that parties do not have to litigate in parallel in different countries incurring high costs. In a typical case, parallel litigation can amount to at least €500,000. This can be cut drastically by a unified court, saving as much as €289 million for European companies every year.”

The court will include local and central chambers under a common appeal court. In the initial stages, parties will be able to continue to use national courts – this is to allow confidence to build up gradually in the new system.

A common understanding was reached on renewal fees, which will be set to “foster competitiveness”, and on co-operation between national patent offices.