European Union . The Council fails to agree on Community patent jurisdiction
On 14 November 2002, the Council held a new meeting to discuss the jurisdictional system for the Community patent, which, unfortunately, ended without agreement.
Jurisdiction, languages and costs are being main obstacles in order to reach a workable agreement on the future of the Community patent, one of the instruments which is deemed to be key for the European Community to be the most competitive economy in the world by 2010.
The Council failed to agree on the conclusions suggested by the Danish Presidency focussing on the jurisdictional arrangements. After the meeting, Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein underlined that the Commission would never accept a weakening of the proposed central and specialised EU jurisdiction. He fears that multiple national jurisdictions can only result in legal uncertainty for the potential users of the system. In this sense, the Commissioner expressed his determination as follows: "Let me be absolutely clear. The Commission will not endorse a watered-down Community patent that industry will not use. We cannot allow such a vital measure to be sacrificed on the altar of petty national interests. I will not agree to a Community patent that would be a white elephant".
