Four Decades of Work Yields Single European Patent System

LONDON – More than 40 years after it was first proposed, a single European patent will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2014, after a compromise deal was endorsed last month.

The new patent will be cheaper and more effective in protecting intellectual property (IP), with one patent grant covering the 25 countries that are committed to joining the system. The European Commission estimated that obtaining a patent under the unitary scheme will cost €4,725 (US$6,245), compared to the current average cost of €36,800.