Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-02-14-Speech-1-078-000"
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"en.20110214.14.1-078-000"2
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"Mr President, it is a privilege and an honour for me to address this distinguished audience today. As Mr Lehne has just mentioned, the presence of the Presidency on a Monday bears witness to the importance of the issue.
Although patenting rules are not the only factor determining innovation activity, their importance is obvious to all. Each year, we keep on working with the current set of rules, our fragmented system becomes less attractive and competitive.
Under these circumstances, the overwhelming majority of the Member States consider that the creation of unitary patent protection within the framework of enhanced cooperation is the only way forward for the time being. 27 Member States have submitted official requests with a view to establishing enhanced cooperation. Their clear expectation is that visible results be achieved within a reasonable time.
As the Presidency-in-Office, we will do our utmost to make substantial progress in the field. On the other hand, the Presidency has to pay attention to the objections and reservations voiced by Spain and Italy too.
Let me turn now to address the distinguished Spanish and Italian members of this House in their mother tongue.
Firstly, I would like to address the honourable Members from our partner, Spain. We are confident that, through enhanced cooperation, with the creation of the unitary patent protection system, we are taking a significant step towards an ideal situation in which the unitary patent protection system covers all the Member States and the whole of the European Union.
I turn now to our Italian friends. In order to avoid any doubt, I must stress that no business and no individual, regardless of the country of origin, will be excluded from the benefits of a future unitary patent.
Mr President, thank you for your patience. I very much look forward to working with Parliament in the future on this subject.
First of all, I would like to thank the European Parliament for its constructive approach with regard to the Council’s efforts to improve conditions for obtaining patent protection in the European Union. I also wish to extend our gratitude to the former Belgian Presidency for its relentless efforts to further the cause of the creation of a unitary patent protection.
Second, I would like to report that this morning, the Council decided, by an overwhelming majority, to request your consent for the authorisation of enhanced cooperation in this field. Subject to your consent, the Competitiveness Council on 10 March is expected to give its authorisation.
The Hungarian Presidency attaches particular importance to improving the EU’s competitiveness and to supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises operating in the EU. It is our joint responsibility to help them with innovation, which is one of the driving forces of competitiveness of SMEs both at European level and globally.
It has been clear from the outset that one of the key elements in fulfilling this objective would be the creation of an EU patent, which has been delayed for more than 30 years. Maintaining the status quo is not an option. Millions of euro are spent every year on translations and on administrative paperwork to obtain patent protection in the 27 different legal systems in the EU, while in the US, an inventor can acquire a patent for the entire US territory for an amount equivalent to EUR 1 850. In the EU, it costs EUR 20 000 for only 13 Member States.
According to calculations, European enterprises suffer a loss of seven to eight hundred million euro because of the lack of an EU patent. Needless to say, this amount could be put to much better use if channelled, for example, into technological research.
There is currently no internal market in terms of patent protection. The applicant is obliged to work with 27 separate national legal systems. As a result, in practice, protection is often sought only in a certain part of the EU territory, thus creating serious problems in terms of the free circulation of goods, which are protected by a patent in some jurisdictions, but can be freely produced in others.
Our clear preference has always been the creation of a truly EU-wide patent that would cover the territory of all 27 Member States. We profoundly regret that negotiations relating to the linguistic regime have resulted in a stalemate, with no prospect of reaching the necessary consensus in the foreseeable future.
I also need to stress that EU decision makers are under pressure to make rapid progress in this field. The freshly released Innovation Union Scoreboard confirms that there is already a yawning gap between the innovation performance of the US and Japan and that of the EU, and the major emerging economies are rapidly catching up."@en1
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