IT CERTAINLY seemed like a piece of good news after yet another summit devoted to the woes of the euro. European Council president Herman van Rompuy tweeted the news even before he left the meeting, later describing it as a historic breakthrough. At the press conference, words like 'innovation' and 'economic growth' were conjured up. The issue in question is the Unified Patent, and Unified Patent Court, which will allow inventors to make a single filing to cover protection in 25 out of the 27 EU states. This gets complicated. There is already a 'European Patent', a non-EU construction that covers 38 states in and outside the EU and is optional, but while a single filing takes place, litigation happens in national courts. Under the new patent, litigation will take place at a single court, either in Paris or at one of two specialised outposts in London and Munich.
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