The final furlong of the single EU patent is an uphill effort, but the new simpler system promises to cut costs by up to €32,000 for a patent.

Cutting the cost of patenting discoveries

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/16477505/m003-0279-enxxx.srt

This patent is an essential tool  to promote innovation

and to encourage investment  by European firms

When one looks at growth in applications,

China, Japan  and the United States of America

have accounted for 82% of the total growth.

We cannot exaggerate  the importance of this measure.

The European Union finally  has a unitary patent system

which is effective, low-cost  and legally secure.

What we have today  is not a European patent -

French and German are favoured over  the more widely-spoken Spanish language.

Yes, it may become cheaper  to obtain the patent,

but the litigation costs may rise  as the system will become more complex,

and this is even more damaging for SMEs.

The multinational company Novozymes,  whose headquarters are in Denmark,

bases its business  on research and innovation.

With annual turnover of over 1.5 billion  euros, Novozymes produces enzymes,

macromolecules which accelerate the  transformation of one product into another.

This maize will be turned into ethanol  by the action of enzymes.

Enzymes are also found  in washing powder.

Research is expensive,  and to protect its discoveries

Novozymes invests hundreds  of thousands of euros in patents.

In Europe, we file in a different number  of countries depending on the patent.

But a rough guesstimate would be  half a million euros per year

which is a significant cost  when you go for different countries.

To patent its discoveries in Europe,  Novozymes must translate its patent

into the language of the country  where it markets the enzyme.

If it wants to patent  in the 28 Member States,

and then file  with each national patenting authority.

The cost is over 36,000 euros  compared to nearly 2,000 in the USA.

We have more than 7,000 patents globally

and we have more than 100 inventions  being filed as new patents every year.

In the new system we would go more often  for the broader European protection,

so we could bring our inventions to markets  we might not go to today.

This new system  is that of the European unitary patent.

With this, Novozymes would  only have to file one patent

for all Member States  via the European Patent Office,

an international body  which is not part of the European Union.

The official languages  are English, German and French.

As a result, such a patent would only cost  4,000 euros compared to 36,000 before.

If you save money  by spending less money on prosecution,

you can spend more money  somewhere else.

It could be on innovation,  it could be on other things.

The fact that you get  a better and faster enforcement

An advantage for big industries,  but also maybe for SMEs

which represent over 90%  of the economic fabric in Denmark.

For them a patent valid across Europe  is often too expensive.

The risk is that their innovation  may be stolen.

This Danish regional public body helps  small and medium enterprises to develop.

A unitary patent is OK, but not at any  price, especially if it goes to court.

The side effect is that you are relying on an  international court instead of a Danish one.

There could be problems  because the international court

won't have the culture of understanding  about how we work in Denmark.

You have to defend yourself very quickly

and you will only have one shot  at the international court.

With the new system there will be  an international court,

but, as this is an agreement  between 25 countries,

the 25 legal systems will remain applicable,  with a risk of forum shopping.

to litigate, for example,  in a foreign country, in foreign languages,

and he would be forced to take not only  his local counsel along,

but also a foreign counsel.  Of course, that will mean

This unitary patent is not yet in operation.

Only 25 Member States will apply it  via the enhanced cooperation procedure.

The Danish government has agreed  but not the parliament.

There will be a referendum  on this patent in May.

What they have been calculating is  the expected savings from a unitary patent

with Denmark on board,  and that's about 25 million euros annually.

The unitary patent has been  40 years in the making.

Spain and Italy have decided not to  take part for linguistic and legal reasons.

We go to the Spanish  Chamber of Commerce in Brussels.

The Spanish language is the second or third  most widely spoken language in the world.

would be well-received  by all those who speak the language

Although the European Parliament voted  very largely in favour of the unitary patent

and the Council has agreed it, it must  still be ratified by the 25 Member States

that signed the enhanced cooperation.  So far only Austria has done so.

Novozymes will have to wait longer  to reduce its costs.