Proposal for a Council Regulation (EU) on the translation arrangements for the European Union patent {SEC(2010) 796} {SEC(2010) 797}
Date: 2010-06-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Patent Office, European patent, industrial property, intellectual property, patent, translation

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 30.6.2010 
COM(2010) 350 final 

2010/0198 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) 

on the translation arrangements for the European Union patent 

{SEC(2010) 796} 
{SEC(2010) 797} 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF PROPOSAL 

In  the  European  Union  (EU),  patent  protection  is  currently  provided  by  national  patents 
granted  by  Member  States  or  by  European  patents  granted  by  the  European  Patent  Office 
(EPO) under the European Patent Convention (EPC). When a European patent is granted, it 
must be validated in Member States where protection is sought.  

For a European patent to be validated in a territory of a Member State, national law may inter 
alia require that the patent proprietor files a translation of the European patent into the official 
language  of  that  Member  State.  In  order  to  reduce  the  costs  caused  by  validation 
requirements,  in  2000  the  EPC  Contracting  States  adopted  the  so-called  "London 
Agreement"1 which is currently in force in ten EU Member States. The London Agreement is 
an  optional  scheme  and  therefore  results  in  differences  in  the  translation  regimes  in  the  EU 
Member States. Seventeen Member States are not parties to the London Agreement and still 
require a translation of the entire patent into their official language. Only France, Germany, 
Luxembourg and the United Kingdom (which have an official language in common with one 
of  the  official  languages  of  the  EPO)  have  agreed  to  dispense  entirely  with  translations 
requirements. Six other EU Member States that have ratified the London Agreement (but do 
not  have  a  language  in  common  with  the  EPO)  have  agreed  to  dispense  with  translation 
requirements  only  in  part.  They  still  require  translation  of  the  claims  into  their  official 
language and, in some Member States, also a translation of the description into English where 
the European patent has been granted in French or German.  

Therefore,  the  current  patent  system  in  the  EU,  in  particular  in  terms  of  translation 
requirements,  involves  very  high  costs  and  complexity.  A  European  patent  validated  in  13 
countries costs as much as 20 000 EUR, of which nearly 14 000 EUR arises from translations 
alone.  This  makes  a  European  patent  more  than  10  times  more  expensive  than  a  US  patent 
costing about 1 850 EUR2. The high costs in Europe would be considerably reduced with an 
EU  patent  having  cost-effective,  legally-secure  and  simplified  translation  arrangements. 
Under this proposal, processing fees for the EU patent covering all 27 Member States would 
be less than 6 200 EUR, with only about 10% due to translations. By improving accessibility 
to patent protection, particularly for  small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and public 
research organisations, an affordable EU patent should be an important element in stimulating 
innovation and competitiveness in the EU. 

In  August  2000,  the  Commission  adopted  a  proposal  for  a  Council  Regulation  on  the 
Community  patent  on  the  basis  of  Article  308  EC3.  This  aimed  at  the  creation  of  a  unitary 
Community patent title that is affordable in terms of translation costs. After grant of the patent 
by  the  EPO  in  one  of  the  official  languages  of  the  EPO  (English,  French  or  German)  and 
publication in that language together with a translation of the claims into the other two official 
languages  of  the  EPO,  the  Community  patent  would  have  taken  effect  in  the  entire  EU.  In 

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Agreement on the application of Article 65 EPC, OJ EPO 2001, 550. 
Bruno  van  Pottlesberghe  de  la  Potterie  and  Didier  François,  the  Cost  factor  in  Patent  Systems, 
Université Libre de Bruxelles Working Paper WP-CEB 06-002, Brussels 2006, see pp.17 et seq. 
Proposal for a Council Regulation on the Community patent - COM(2000) 412. 

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2002, the European Parliament adopted a Legislative Resolution4. In 2003, on the basis of a 
common political approach5, the Council started discussions on a different solution requiring 
translations  of  claims  into  all  EU  languages.  However,  no  final  agreement  on  this  was 
reached, given that this approach was rejected by the users of the patent system as too costly 
and too complex. 

Discussions  on  the  proposal  were  re-launched  in  the  Council  after  adoption  by  the 
Commission of the Communication "Enhancing the patent system in Europe" in April 20076. 
The Communication confirmed the commitment to the creation of a single Community patent. 
It  also  offered  to  explore  with  Member  States  an  approach  to  the  translation  arrangements 
with  a  view  to  reducing  translation  costs  while  facilitating  the  dissemination  of  patent 
information in all EU official languages. 

In  December  2009,  the  Council  adopted  conclusions  on  an  "Enhanced  patent  system  for 
Europe"7 and a general approach on the proposal for a Regulation on the EU Patent8. Due to 
the change of legal basis for the creation of the EU patent following the entry into force of the 
Lisbon Treaty, the translation arrangements for the EU patent that were initially present in the 
Commission  proposal  of  2000  must  now  become  the  subject  of  a  separate  proposal.  The 
present proposal largely reflects the translation system in the original Commission proposal, 
but builds on the progress made in the Council since the re-launch of the discussions in 2007.  

The  Council  conclusions  affirm  the  need  for  a  Regulation  to  cover  the  translation 
arrangements, which should come into force together with the Regulation on the EU patent. 
The conclusions confirmed that in order for the EU patent to become operational, to the extent 
necessary,  amendments  might  be  made  to  the  EPC.  The  Council  also  agreed  on  the  main 
features  of  the  unified  patent  court  which  is  another  main  element  in  improving  the  patent 
system in Europe. The conclusions, however, are without prejudice to the pending opinion of 
the  Court  of  Justice  of  the  European  Union  on  the  compatibility  of  the  draft  Agreement 
creating the unified patent court with the EU Treaties. 

Furthermore, in the Europe 2020 strategy9 the Commission, as part of the Flagship Initiative 
"Innovation Union", reaffirms its commitment to working towards the creation of a single EU 
patent  and  a  specialised  patent  court  in  order  to  improve  the  framework  conditions  for 
innovation as a driver for future growth. On 25-26 March 2010 the European Council agreed 
on  the  major  elements  of  this  strategy10.  The  need  for  business  and  innovators,  particularly 
SMEs, to have access to an attractive and cost-effective single patent regime and jurisdiction 
system  was  also  highlighted  in  the  report  to  the  President  of  the  Commission  by  Mario 
Monti11. This report recommended adoption of both the single patent and the unified patent 
court as a matter of urgency, stated that the patent is a test ground on which to measure the 
seriousness  of  the  commitment  to  a  re-launch  of  the  Single  Market,  and  called  for  the 
Commission  to  maintain  its  ambition  in  this  area.  The  Commission  Communication  on  the 

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European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council regulation on the Community 
patent - COM(2000) 412 - C5-0461/2000 - 2000/0177(CNS) (OJ C 127E, 29.5.2003, p. 519–526). 
Council document 7159/03. 
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council - COM(2007) 165. 
Council document 17229/09. 
Council document 16113/09 Add 1. 
Europe 2020 "A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth" - COM(2010) 2020. 
European Council Conclusions, 25/26 March 2010, EUCO 7/10. 
"A new strategy for the Single Market – at the service of Europe's economy and society" - Report to the 
President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso by Mario Monti, 9 May 2010. 

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"Re-launch of the Single Market" planned for autumn 2010 should re-affirm the patent reform 
as  one  of  the  priorities  for  such  re-launch.  The  present  proposal  covering  the  translation 
arrangements of the EU patent is therefore an essential part of achieving this goal. 

2. 

CONSULTATION OF THE INTERESTED PARTIES 

In January 2006, the Commission launched a broad consultation on the future patent policy in 
Europe12.  More  than  2500  replies  were  received  from  a  variety  of  stakeholders,  including 
businesses  in  all  sectors  of  the  economy,  industry  associations,  SME  associations,  patent 
practitioners,  public  authorities  and  academics.  The  replies  clearly  showed  disappointment 
with the lack of progress on the Community patent. In particular, sharp criticism was voiced 
against the translation arrangements of the Council's common political approach of 3 March 
200313. Nearly all stakeholders rejected this solution as being unsatisfactory due to the high 
costs  and  practical  difficulties  for  patent  proprietors  as  well  as  the  legal  uncertainty  for  all 
users  of  the  patent  system  resulting  from  the  legal  effect  which  would  have  been  given  to 
translations. The support for other options varied substantially; some stakeholders requested 
an  English-only  regime,  while  others  preferred  various  multilingual  arrangements.  Despite 
these  criticisms,  stakeholders  did,  however,  express  continued  support  for  a  unitary, 
affordable  and  competitive  Community  patent.  These  messages  were  affirmed  at  a  public 
hearing held on 12 July 2006.  

Discussions  with  stakeholders  have  continued  following  adoption  of  the  Communication  in 
April  2007.  On  16-17  October  2008,  the  Commission  organised  a  conference  on  Industrial 
Property Rights in Europe jointly with the French Presidency14. Participants reiterated that the 
EU  patent  "should  be  cost-effective,  legally  secure  and  reduce  complexity",  and  expressed 
broad  support  for  new  initiatives  to  develop  specialised  machine  translations  for  patent 
documents for purposes of patent information15. 

Translation  arrangements  for  the  EU  patent  were  also  extensively  addressed  in  the 
consultation on the Small Business Act in 2008. Again, stakeholders identified high patenting 
costs  as  the  main  obstacle  to  patent  protection  in  the  EU  and  requested  the  creation  of  a 
unitary  EU  patent  as  soon  as  possible16.  In  their  separate  submissions  to  the  consultation, 
businesses  in  general  and  SME  representatives  in  particular  unequivocally  requested  a 
significant reduction of the costs of patenting (including translation costs) for the future EU 
patent17. Other recent position papers from stakeholders have referred to translations for the 
EU patent. A new approach based on specialised machine translations is generally welcomed, 
but it is emphasised that such machine translations must not have any legal effect and be used 
for information purposes only. 

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The  consultation  document,  replies  from  stakeholders  and  a  report  on  the  preliminary  findings  of  the 
consultation are available at http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/indprop/patent/consultation_en.htm.  
Council Document 6874/03, 2490th Council meeting - Competitiveness (Internal market, Industry and 
Research), Brussels, 3 March 2003. 
Documents and conclusions of the Conference are available at 
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/indprop/rights/index_en.htm. 
See Council document 6985/08, 28 February 2008 and Council document 8928/08, 28 April 2008. 
Small  Business  Act  for  Europe,  Report  on  the  Results  of  the  Open  Consultation,  22  April  2008, 
available at www.ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom. 
UEAPME  Expectations  on  the  Proposal  for  a  European  Small  Business  Act,  14  December  2007, 
available  at  www.ueapme.com.  Response  to  the  Consultation  on  a  Small  Business  Act  for  Europe, 
2 April 2008, available at http://www.eurochambres.eu. 

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3. 

IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

This proposal is accompanied by an impact assessment which compares the economic impact 
of four options:  

1) 

2) 

3) 

4) 

An EU patent system in English only,  

An EU patent processed, granted and published in one of the three official languages 
of  the  European  Patent  Office  with  claims  translated  into  the  other  two  official 
languages,  

An  EU  patent  processed,  granted  and  published  as  in  option  2,  but  with  claims 
translated into the other four most commonly spoken EU official languages; and 

An EU patent processed, granted and published as in options 2 and 3, but with claims 
translated into all EU languages.  

The  analysis  carried  out  in  the  impact  assessment  has  demonstrated  that  Option  2  is  the 
preferable  option  as  it  maintains  the  linguistic regime  of  the  well-functioning  system  of  the 
EPO and implies only minimum translation costs. 

4. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  Lisbon  Treaty  has  established  a  new  legal  basis,  Article  118  TFEU,  for  the  creation  of 
European  intellectual  property  rights  providing  uniform  protection  throughout  the  European 
Union. The first paragraph of this Article sets out the basis for establishing measures creating 
these rights in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure. Based on this Article, the 
EU  patent  will  be  created  by  Regulation  xx/xx  on  the  European  Union  patent.  As  follows 
from Regulation xx/xx, the EU patent will be a European patent granted by the EPO.  

The second paragraph of Article 118 provides for the basis to establish language arrangements 
applicable to European intellectual property rights providing uniform protection by means of 
regulations  adopted  by  a  special  legislative  procedure  with  the  Council  acting  unanimously 
after consulting the European Parliament. 

The  problems  of  high  costs  and  complexity  that  arise  from  the  current  fragmented  patent 
system, in particular, the translation requirements established by Member States can only be 
addressed by a unitary patent created at the level of the EU.  

5. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION 

The proposal indicates the necessity inter alia for arrangements concerning the rolling out of 
the automated machine translation programme of the EPO. The proposal has no impact on the 
EU budget. 

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6. 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 

6.1. 

Comments on the articles 

Article 1 – Subject matter 

This Article defines the subject matter of this Regulation. 

Article 2 – Definitions 

This Article provides for definitions of the main terms used in this Regulation. 

Article 3 – Publication of the EU patent specification 

This Article provides that once the specification of an EU patent is published in accordance 
with  Article  14(6)  EPC,  no  further  translation  is  required.  Article  14(6)  EPC  provides  that 
specifications  of  European  patents  are  published in  the  language  of  the  proceedings  (one  of 
the  three  EPO  official  languages  in  which  the  application  for  the  patent  has  been  filed  – 
English, French or German) and includes translations of the claims in the other two official 
languages of the EPO. This minimum requirement established in the EPC will also apply to 
EU patents, but no further translations after the grant of the EU patent will be required. The 
Article  also  specifies  that  in  accordance  with  the  EPC  the  EU  patent  specification  in  the 
language of the proceedings will be the authentic text.  

This requirement is identical with the Commission's original proposal for a Community patent 
Regulation in August 2000 and builds on the existing system of official languages at the EPO 
and  the  use  of  languages  by  the  majority  of  applicants18.  This  solution  is  likely  to  have  a 
positive  impact  on  all  users  of  the  patent  system  in  Europe  by  achieving  a  considerable 
reduction in translation costs.  

Article 4 – Translation in case of a dispute 

This  Article  requires  that  in  the  case  of  a  legal  dispute  the  patent  proprietor  provides  at  the 
request  and  the  choice  of  the  alleged  infringer  a  full  translation  of  the  EU  patent  into  an 
official language of the Member State in which either the alleged infringement took place or 
in  which  the  alleged  infringer  is  domiciled.  The  patent  proprietor  shall  also  provide  a  full 
translation  of  the  EU  patent  into  the  language  of  proceedings  of  the  competent  court  in  the 
European Union at the request of that court. The costs of such translations shall be borne by 
the patent proprietor. 

Article 5 – Report on the implementation of this Regulation 

This Article provides for an evaluation exercise including a report on the implementation of 
the  Regulation.  Not  later  than  five  years  from  the  date  of  the  entry  into  force  of  this 
Regulation,  the  Commission  shall  present  to  the  Council  a  report  on  the  operation  of  the 

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Currently, 88.9% of the applicants of European patents file their patent applications either in English, 
French or German. Applicants from Europe use these languages as their filing language in 93% of the 
cases. 

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translation  arrangements  for  the  EU  patent  and,  where  necessary,  make  proposals  for 
amending this Regulation. 

Article 6 - Entry into force 

This Article provides that this Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day after its 
publication  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European  Union,  but  shall  apply  from  the  date  of 
entry into force of the Regulation on the European Union patent. Since the substantive legal 
provisions  applicable  for  the  EU  patent  as  a  European  intellectual  property  title  would  be 
governed by the EU Patent Regulation, but the translation arrangements applicable for these 
patents  would  be  regulated  by  the  present  proposal,  the  two  legislative  instruments  would 
have to be applied jointly. 

6.2. 

Accompanying measures to be established together with the creation of the EU 
patent 

Translations for the provision of patent information 

Necessary  arrangements  shall  be  made  between  the  European  Union  and  the  EPO  to  make 
machine  translations  of  patent  applications  and  patent  specifications  available  in  all  official 
languages of the European Union without additional costs for the applicants. Such translations 
should  be  available  on  demand,  online  and  free  of  charge  on  publication  of  the  patent 
application. They would be provided for purposes of patent information and would not have 
legal effect. This would be made clear to users through an appropriate disclaimer. Contrary to 
the  current  practice  where  translations  are  provided  several  months  after  grant  –  when  they 
are less needed and rarely consulted - their early availability could significantly improve the 
dissemination  of  patent  information,  in  particular  for  individual  inventors,  researchers  and 
innovative  SMEs.  The  machine  translation  programme  will  aim  to  deliver  high  quality 
translations  based  on  technical  standards  including  electronic  dictionaries  with  vocabulary 
linked to the international patent classification system. 

High  quality  machine  translations  have  already  been  developed  by  the  EPO  in  a  limited 
number of languages. The Commission is also supporting a project for machine translations 
(Patent  Language  Translations  Online,  PLuTO)19,  which  involves  developing  translation 
software  on  the  basis  of  patent  documentation  covering  all  official  languages  of  the  EU 
Member States over the next five years. The creation of the EU patent would necessitate the 
acceleration  of  work  and  the  roll-out  of  such  a  programme  covering  all  EU  languages.  The 
implementing  provisions  applicable  to  the  machine  translation  system  would  have  to  be 
established by the Select Committee of the Administrative Council of the EPO composed of 
representatives of the EU and all Member States. 

Reimbursement of costs 

European patent applications may be filed in any language in accordance with Article 14(2) of 
the  EPC.  Where  the  language  of  filing  is  not  an  official  EPO  language,  a  translation  of  the 
application  into  one  of  the  official  languages  of  the  EPO  must  be  provided,  within  a 
prescribed time period, so that the application can be processed by the EPO. Under the current 
Implementing Regulations of the EPC20, applicants filing in a language not in common with 

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Information available at http://cordis.europa.eu/home_en.html.  
Article 14(4) EPC; Rule 6(1) of the Implementing Regulations. 

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official languages of the EPO are eligible for a partial reimbursement of the translation costs 
at various stages of the procedure before the EPO by way of a fee reduction. This would also 
apply to EU patents. However, with respect to applicants for EU patents based in EU Member 
States, necessary arrangements shall be made to provide not only for a partial, but for a full 
reimbursement of the translation costs up to fixed ceilings. These additional reimbursements 
would  be  financed  from  the  fees  of  EU  patents  collected  by  the  EPO.  These  arrangements 
would have to be established by the Select Committee of the  Administrative Council of the 
EPO composed of representatives from the EU and of all Member States.  

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2010/0198 (CNS) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) 

on the translation arrangements for the European Union patent 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
second paragraph of Article 118 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national Parliaments, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament21, 

Acting in accordance with a special legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

The  European  Union  patent  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  "EU  patent")  has  been 
created by virtue of Regulation xx/xx on the European Union patent22. In accordance 
with  the  first  paragraph  of  Article  118  of  the  Treaty,  the  Regulation  provides  for 
uniform  patent  protection  throughout  the  European  Union  and  for  the  setting  up  of 
centralised Union-wide authorisation, coordination and supervision arrangements. 

Translation  arrangements  for  the  EU  patent  that  are  cost-effective,  simplified  and 
ensure  legal  certainty  should  stimulate  innovation  and  should,  in  particular,  benefit 
Small  and  Medium-Sized  Enterprises  (SMEs)  and  be  complementary  to  the 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council,  the  European  Parliament,  the 
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions "Think 
Small  First"  -  A  "Small  Business  Act"  for  Europe23.  Such  translation  arrangements 
should make access to the EU patent and to the patent system as a whole easier, less 
costly and less risky. 

Since the European Patent Office (hereinafter referred to as the "EPO") is responsible 
for the grant of European patents, including EU patents, the translation arrangements 
for the EU patent should be built on the current procedure applied by the EPO. Those 
arrangements should aim at achieving the necessary balance between the interests of 
economic operators and the public interest in terms of the cost of proceedings and the 
availability of technical information. 

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OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
COM(2008) 394. 

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(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

In  case  of  a  dispute  concerning  an  EU  patent,  it  is  a  legitimate  requirement  that  the 
patent proprietor provides a full translation of the EU patent into an official language 
of the Member State in which either the alleged infringement took place or in which 
the alleged infringer is domiciled. The patent proprietor is also required to provide a 
full  translation  of  the  EU  patent  into  the  language  of  proceedings  of  the  competent 
court in the European Union at the request of that court. Such translations should be 
provided at the expense of the patent proprietor. 

In order to facilitate access to the EU patent, in particular for SMEs, applicants who do 
not have a language in common with one of the official languages of the EPO should 
be able to file their applications in any other official language of the European Union. 
As  a  complementary  measure,  for  applicants  obtaining  EU  patents  and  having  their 
residence or principal place of business within a Member State which has an official 
language  other  than  one  of  the  EPO  official  languages,  a  system  of  additional 
reimbursements  of  the  costs  related  to  the  translation  from  that  language  into  the 
language of the proceedings of the EPO, beyond what is currently already in place for 
the European patents, should be established by the time this Regulation applies. 

In  order  to  promote  the  availability  of  patent  information  and  the  dissemination  of 
translations  for  EU  patent 
technological  knowledge,  a  system  of  machine 
specifications  into  all  official  EU  languages  should  be  in  place  by  the  time  this 
Regulation applies.  Such  machine  translations should serve for information purposes 
only and should not have any legal effect. 

Since the substantive provisions applicable to the EU patent as a European intellectual 
property  title  are  governed  by  Regulation  xx/xx  on  the  European  Union  patent,  and 
they  are  completed  by  the  translation  arrangements  provided  for  in  this  Regulation, 
this Regulation should apply from the date of the entry into force of Regulation xx/xx.  

In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on 
European  Union,  the  objective  of  the  action  to  be  taken,  namely  the  creation  of  a 
uniform and simplified translation regime for the EU patent, can be only achieved at 
European level. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that 
Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve this 
objective. 

This  Regulation  is  without  prejudice  to  the  rules  governing  the  languages  of  the 
Institutions of the Union established in accordance with Article 342 of the Treaty on 
the Functioning of the European Union and to Council Regulation 1/1958 determining 
the languages to be used by the European Economic Community, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 
Subject matter 

This  Regulation  establishes  the  provisions  on  the  translation  arrangements  applicable  to  a 
European Union patent. 

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Article 2 
Definitions 

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply: 

(a) 

"European Union patent", hereinafter referred to as the "EU patent", means a patent 
as defined in Regulation xx/xx on the European Union patent. 

(b) 

"EU patent specification" shall include the description, the claims and any drawings. 

Article 3 
Publication of the EU patent specification 

After  the  publication  of  the  EU  patent  specification  in  accordance  with  Article  14, 
paragraph  6,  of  the  Convention  on  the  Grant  of  the  European  Patents  of  5  October 
1973, as amended (hereinafter referred to as the "EPC"), no further translations are 
required. 

The  text  of  the  EU  patent  in  the  official  language  of  the  European  Patent  Office 
referred to as the language of the proceedings in Article 14, paragraph 3, of the EPC 
shall be the authentic text. 

Article 4 
Translation in case of a dispute 

In the case of a dispute relating to an EU patent, the patent proprietor shall provide at 
the request and the choice of an alleged infringer, a full translation of the patent into 
an  official  language  of  the  Member  State  in  which  either  the  alleged  infringement 
took place or in which the alleged infringer is domiciled. 

In the case of a dispute relating to an EU patent, the patent proprietor shall provide at 
the  request  of  the  competent  court  in  the  European  Union  in  the  course  of  legal 
proceedings, a full translation of the patent into the language of the proceedings of 
the court. 

The  cost  of  the  translation  referred  to  in  paragraphs  1  and  2  shall  be  borne  by  the 
patent proprietor. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Article 5 
Report on the implementation of this Regulation 

Not  later  than  five  years  from  the  date  on  which  this  Regulation  enters  into  force,  the 
Commission  shall  present  to  the  Council  a  report  on  the  operation  of  the  translation 
arrangements  for  the  EU  patent  and  where  necessary  make  proposals  for  amending  this 
Regulation. 

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Article 6 
Entry into force 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

It shall apply from [date of the entry into force of Regulation xx/xx on the European Union 
patent]. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in 
accordance with the Treaties. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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