It costs €2,000 in the US, and up to €40,000 in Europe. The single EU patent should make things simpler and cheaper, but its implementation is complicated.

Reporter: Patenting an invention across a continent

Protecting an invention  in several EU states is expensive.

The EU is working on a cheaper system,  the single European patent.

The principle is simple, a document valid  across the EU, but difficult to implement.

Pedro Vitor is an inventor. Folder under  arm, he goes to a rather special agency,

a company specialised in filing patents  and intellectual property protection.

This university professor holds in his hands  a fresh invention that needs to be protected.

The invention is an electromagnetic  radiation detector.

On this side, the left side, it has  a radiation indicator with a scale of 1 to 5.

Above level 4, it indicates that  the EU reference level has been exceeded.

It takes more than 1,000 euros to acquire  a patent which is valid only in Portugal.

But when it comes to protecting his  invention in the EU, the figure rises rapidly.

The cost of real protection  in all EU countries is very high,

Protecting an invention  in another EU state

implies translation  and a multiplication of the costs.

The patent must be validated  in each country.

The cost of protection in the 27 EU states  can rise to 40,000 euros,

a small fortune for independent inventors.

In the US a patent costs  less than 2,000 euros in total.

An inventor without  the support of a big company,

is at a disadvantage  in getting a European patent.

The solution to reducing the costs  could come from Europe.

A new kind of patent is being established,  the single EU patent,

one single document  valid in several countries.

the first consequence  is a huge reduction of costs.

There will be no more need for  validation in all Member States,

so there will be no translation costs,  payments to other professionals

nor national tax  to be paid in each Member State.

English, German and French  would be the only official languages.

The inventor could choose one to get his  patent recognised in all other EU countries

except Italy and Spain,  which refuse to participate in the system.

They speak of distortion of competition.

This chemist who holds several patents for  her discoveries understands the attitude.

It’s very important that the patent can  be read in our own language.

because for me the description  and the claims make sense together.

If you really need to understand the claims,  you need to read the description,

and this is very important  in cases of litigation.

For us Portuguese it’s a shame,  because we’re on the Iberian Peninsula.

We should wait for the Spanish to sign  the single patent regulation before joining.

We head to an industrial site  on the outskirts of Lisbon,

where we meet a representative  of Portuguese industry.

The aim of the patent system  is not to defend languages,

and the transformation of this knowledge  into valuable assets.

I don’t see patents as a question  of language, or a patriotic issue,

The absence of a single patent costs  EU businesses 425,000 euros per day.

The 25 states which decided to  move forward with a trilingual system

have given themselves until June 2012  to reach agreement.

There’s still deadlock over the location  of the future European patent court.