European patent with Unitary Effect Unified Patent Court Jens Viktor Nørgaard, MSc PhD EPA, Partner at Høiberg A/S 8 May, 2013; ESS & MAX IV

Questions are Most Welcome 2

3 Høiberg A/S  Høiberg was founded in 1995 by Susanne Høiberg, MD  Today, Høiberg employs 40 people  Høiberg has patent attorneys covering all technical fields, including Physics and life-science  We understand the complex issues: 13 of our 17 patent attorneys hold a Ph.D.  We work with start up companies, large international corporations and with Swedish and Danish Universities and Hospitals.  Høiberg has years of experience with international collaborations.

People from Høiberg Jens Viktor Nørgaard  Partner, European Patent Attorney PhD (Biochemistry and Forest Genetics), MSc (Forestry Science), Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University of Copenhagen  Nanna Meyland Nicolaisen  Patent Attorney PhD (Physical Chemistry), MSc (Physics); University of Copenhagen  Peter Holm  Patent Attorney, CDPA PhD (Biochemistry), Karolinska Institute, Lund University, University of Aarhus MSc (Chemistry), Linköping University 4

5 European Union and European Patent

 European Patent Convention (EPC) covers:  38 states  2 extension states  Total population of about 600 million  European Union includes:  27 states  Any of the 27 states may be included as a designated state in a European Patent  Total population of about 500 million 6

Some History  September 1949, French Senator Henri Longchambon proposed to the Council of Europe the creation of a European Patent Office  Strasbourg Patent Convention in a multilateral treaty signed by Member States of the Council of Europe - entered into force on August 1, 1980 and led to a significant harmonization of patent laws across European countries  Convention for the European Patent for the common market, signed at Luxembourg on December 15, 1975  Successful implementation of Community Trademark!  Successful implementation of Community Design! 7

Obituary  The Community Patent, aged nearly 34, passed away peacefully on 30 November, 2009  Born in Luxembourg 15 December, 1975 from 9 parents who had convened for the occasion, it was severely handicapped at birth, in particular with language problems.  In 1985 and 1989, its parents submitted it to major surgical operations, which could not however remove its handicaps. Only 7 ever recognised it.  In 2000, it was adopted by a single parent, the Commission, who tried to regulate it. In vain. R.I.P. 8

 European Patent with Unitary Effect

Legal Background Council Regulation on Unitary Patent 1257/2012 Council Regulation on Translation 1260/2012 Agreement on a Unified Patent Court 16351/12, signed 19. February (to be ratified) Enters into force on 1. January 2014, or when 13 countries have ratified, including UK, France and Germany ”Enhanced cooperation”, as Italy and Spain have announced that they will not take part All EU-countries can participate but only EU-countries Poland? 10

European Patent with Unitary Effect  - same set of claims  - uniform protection and having equal effect in all the participating Member States.  - limited, transferred or revoked or lapse, in respect of all participating Member States  - may be licensed in respect of the whole or part of the territories of the participating Member States 11

European Patent Today  European patent application designating 38 states  Grant of the European patent  Validation (translate + file) in each contracting state  GB DE FR SE DK FI NL PL GR ES IT CH NO TR IS etc.  Payment of annual renewal fees in each country 12

European Patent with Unitary Effect  European patent application designating 38 states  Grant of the European patent  Request for unitary effect in the participating member States, validation in rest  EP patent withESITCHNOTRISetc. Unitary effect in not partici-outside EU 25 Member Statespating  One renewal fee Renewal fees for each country 13

Renewal fees  Estimated costs for renewing a European patent in 25 EU states:  Starting from about 10,000 EUR per year increasing to about 17,500 EUR per year  Estimated costs for renewing a Unitary Patent in 25 EU states:  Starting from about 1,500 EUR per year increasing to about 2,500 EUR per year 14

Enforcement in Europe Today  Patents are national rights  Legal action must be taken in each country  Different court systems  Infringement and validity heard by different courts in e.g. Germany  Infringement and validity heard by same court in most countries  Reality: 75% of all patent infrigement cases are heard in Germany (cost and efficiency) 15

Enforcement with Unified Patent Court  One infringement or invalidity action with effect for all EU states (except IT, ES)  First instance:  Local courts (one country),  Regional courts (several countries), or  Central court with 3 chambers  Munich (mechanics)  Paris (electronics)  London (chemistry, pharma, biotech)  Appellate court in Luxembourg  Possible regional SE/DK chamber in Malmö 16

Conclusions  Validation of EP patents:  Simpler  Cheaper  Maintenance fees:  <4-5 countries: more expensive  >4-5 countries: less expensive  Enforcement:  Simpler – one case for the whole of EU (except Italy and Spain)  Cheaper?  Language – not necessarily German  Better? – time will show 17

 Thanks for your time and attention!