Budapest proposed as seat for patent court

Ministers from Central Europe held a two-day summit in Veszprém, Western Hungary. It was suggested that - if partners agree - Budapest would be well-placed to compete for the role of a regional center for the European Patent Court.

This is the fourth occasion since then that Central European justice ministers have met in this format, primarily to discuss matters offering opportunities for cooperation within the European Union. Among the items on the agenda were justice reforms in the participating countries, for example, the question of heads of the judiciary and the distinction between adversarial and non-adversarial proceedings.

Welcoming his Croatian, Polish, Slovak, Slovenian counterparts as well as a state secretary from the Czech justice ministry, Hungarian Minister of Public Administration and Justice, Tibor Navracsics said that in the near future the granting of patents across Europe will be unified, and a European-level court to rule on legal issues related to this will be created in London, Paris and Munich.

There will be the possibility for Member States to create regional divisions, however, to promote the simpler handling of procedures. A working group has examined the advantages and disadvantages of such a division and its report is being discussed now in Veszprém. Budapest has already gained the right to be the headquarters of the European Patent Court’s training center, and for this reason, the Tibor Navracsics said that “We think – if the other countries agree with the creation of such a regional division –  that Budapest would be well-placed to apply to be its center”