RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IP/C/W/60/Add.1
21May1997
ORGANIZATION(97-2112)
Original: English Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
REVIEW OFLEGISLATION INTHE FIELDS OFPATENTS, LAYOUT-DESIGNS
(TOPOGRAPHIES) OFINTEGRATED CIRCUITS, PROTECTION OF
UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION AND CONTROL OF
ANTI-COMPETITIVE PRACTICES IN
CONTRACTUAL LICENCES
Replies from theEuropean Communities andtheirMember States
toquestions posed bytheUnited States
Addendum
Thefollowing communication, dated 14May1997, hasbeenreceived from thePermanent
Delegation oftheCommission oftheEuropean Communities.
_______________
REPLIES TOQUESTIONS POSED BYTHE UNITED STATES
Patents
1. Please identify theissues within thefieldofpatent laworpatent enforcement thatliewithin
thecompetence oftheEuropean Communities, rather thanwithin thecompetence oftheMember States.
Inyouranswer, please indicate thelegal basis forsuchcompetence, anddescribe themeasures that
havebeensuccessfully implemented andthatareineffect inauniform fashion throughout theMember
States oftheEuropean Communities.
According totheCourt ofJustice oftheEuropean Communities (Opinion 1/94 of
15November 1994), theCommunities andtheirMember States hadshared competence toconclude
theTRIPS Agreement. Thismeans thatboththeCommunities andtheirMember States havethe
possibility tolegislate intheareaofpatents andindustrial property ingeneral. ButoncetheCommunities
havelegislated inonespecific area, theMember States arenolonger freetolegislate ortoderogate
fromCommunity law. Atthisstage, twoCommunity instruments intheareaofpatents areinforce:
Regulation 1768/92 onthecreation ofsupplementary protection certificates formedicinal products
andRegulation 1610/96 onthecreation ofsupplementary protection certificates forplant protection
products. There alsoexists newpatent legislation indraftform, which istheproposal foradirective
onthelegalprotection ofbiotechnological inventions. Theprinciple pointed outabove applies equally
totheenforcement ofpatents.
2. Please indicate thelegal status oftheCommunity Patent Convention within theEuropean
Communities. Please alsoexplain whether anydevelopments haveoccurred thatarelikely toleadto
anychange inthatstatus, orwithregard tospecific provisions orobligations oftheCommunity Patent
Convention.
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Page2
TheCommunity Patent Convention isaninternational treaty signed bytheMember States of
theEuropean Communities. TheCPC isnotaninstrument under theTreaty ofRome butisrather
aclassical international treaty, opentoallMember States oftheEuropean Communities. Todate,
theconvention hasnotyetentered intoforce, sincenotallsignatories haveratified itordeposited their
instrumentofratification.TheEuropeanCommissionisabouttoadoptaGreenPaperontheCommunity
Patent andthepatent system inEurope. TheGreen Paper isaconsultation document intended tomeasure
whether itwould beappropriate toconvert theCPC intoalegalinstrument under theTreaty.
3. Please indicate whether theEuropean Communities hascompetence inthefieldofprotection
fornewvarieties ofplants, andthebasis ofsuchcompetence. Inthisregard, please clarify whether
theCouncil Regulations concerning plant variety rights hasbeenimplemented inauniform manner
throughout theEuropean Communities Member States. Please indicate whether anysteps arebeing
taken tocoordinate within theECMember States
(a) ratification ofthe1991 ActoftheUPOV Convention by;and
(b) amendment ofMember Stateplant variety protection systems torender themcompliant
withthe1991 ActofUPOV.
There arecurrently twoparallel andindependent systems ofprotection ofplant varieties in
theEuropean Communities: ontheoneside,Regulation 2100/94 hascreated aCommunity-wide plant
variety rightand,ontheother side,national lawsprovide fornational plant variety rightprotection
inindividual Member States. Thelegalbasis fortheEURegulation wasArticle 235oftheTreaty
ofRome. TheCouncil Regulation 2100/94 doesnotneedtobe"implemented" inauniform manner
bytheMember States since allEURegulations havedirect effect andgiveholders immediate and
identical rights throughout theCommunities. Todate,allMember States oftheEuropean Communities,
except Luxembourg andGreece, areparties totheUPOV Convention (the1961 Convention and/or
the1978 Act). ItisuptotheMember States todecide whether toratify the1991 ActoftheUPOV
Convention and,consequently, toamend theirlegislation torender them compliant withthisAct.