EPLA proponent Jochen Pagenberg delivers fierce criticism on lack of progress on EPLA. Will the European Patent Litigation Agreement have a chance in 2008? Read his critical review in “International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law (IIC) 2007, 7).He seems not particularly optimistic:
“Industry is certainly not willing to waste another year in fruitless discussions. If nothing happens, it will be better to drop EPLA and the Community patent for good – sooner rather than later. The Community patent will be even more difficult to adopt politically because the involvement of all Member States is indeed necessary. But the Community patent should be easier to discuss, when Member States have experience of how EPLA operates. Therefore, if EPLA is not achievable, it would be preferable to maintain the status quo and not even to start on an overhaul of the Community Patent Regulation. None of the Member States and nobody in the Commission will be willing and able to prepare any paper that could even come close to the detailed content of the EPLA draft. Therefore it must be feared that participants will grow tired of continuing discussions on one small item after another – and no end in sight.”