The European Commission has decided that the creation of a central patent court is the most effective way to ensure unity and consistency in dealing with community patent disputes, according to Euromoney’s Legal Media Group. The Commission’s proposals will be sent to other EU institutions for discussion, and may not be approved until next year.

According to Legal Media Group, the Commission suggested that the central patent court should be located in Luxembourg and comprise four legal and three technical judges. Under the proposals, each case would be heard by two legal judges and one technical judge. European Patent Office and Commission decisions would be outside the court’s jurisdiction.

The court would be expected to handle up to 150 cases each year and, depending on its caseload, regional patent courts could also be created.

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