Developing a Common Patent System – Lessons to Be Learnt from the European Experience

Published as: Developing a Common Patent System: Lessons to Be Learned from the European Experience, pp. 254-290, in E. Siew-Kuan Ng, G. W. Austin (eds), International Intellectual Property and the ASEAN Way. Pathways to Interoperability, © Cambridge University Press 2017, reproduced with permission

Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper No. 18-09

43 Pages Posted: 26 Jun 2018

See all articles by Reto Hilty

Reto Hilty

Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition; University of Zurich; Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU)

Roberto Romandini

Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition; Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition

Date Written: June 26, 2018

Abstract

The article analyses reasons for establishing a regional patent system and ways of achieving this aim. Based on proposals elaborated in Europe since 1949, it differentiates models for pooling together the power to grant and protect patents according to their purpose and effect on national sovereignty. The article suggests that where the states of a particular region are not ready to accept a fully unified patent system, as is apparently the case with the members of ASEAN, the establishment of a regional patent office can still be a viable option. On the one hand, regional offices allow the participating states to create economies of scale without limiting significantly their freedom in pursuing national policies. On the other hand, regional offices can provide the infrastructure and the expertise required to develop an independent examination practice and standard of patentability in the region concerned.

Keywords: Unitary Patent, Unified Patent Court, European Patent Convention, ASEAN, Regional Patent, Regionalism in Patent Law

Suggested Citation

Hilty, Reto and Romandini, Roberto, Developing a Common Patent System – Lessons to Be Learnt from the European Experience (June 26, 2018). Published as: Developing a Common Patent System: Lessons to Be Learned from the European Experience, pp. 254-290, in E. Siew-Kuan Ng, G. W. Austin (eds), International Intellectual Property and the ASEAN Way. Pathways to Interoperability, © Cambridge University Press 2017, reproduced with permission, Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper No. 18-09, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3202081

Reto Hilty

Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition ( email )

Marstallplatz 1
Munich, Bayern 80539
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.ip.mpg.de

University of Zurich

Rämistrasse 74/7
Zürich, CH-8001
Switzerland

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU)

Munich, 80539
Germany

Roberto Romandini (Contact Author)

Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition ( email )

Marstallplatz 1
Munich, Bayern 80539
Germany

Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition ( email )

Marstallplatz 1
Munich, Bayern 80539
Germany

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