UPLS: "We will fight them on the beaches ..."

The Court of Justice of the European Union has received submissions in Opinion 1/09 Unified patent litigation system. In this Report for the Hearing, almost all possibilities regarding the legality of the proposed unified patent litigation system are contemplated:

"16 The observations submitted argue one of the following: (i) that the request for an opinion is inadmissible or (ii) that the draft agreement is incompatible with the Treaty [establishing the European Community] or (iii) that it is necessary to make amendments to the draft agreement in order to ensure its conformity with the Treaty or (iv) that the draft agreement is compatible with the Treaty".

This document, outlining the views of the those submitting them, is 35 pages long. More or less half of its length is taken up with those who maintain that the draft agreement is compatible with the Treaty. You can browse it for yourself here. For the record, those who consider the proposal okay from the word "go" include the jurisdictions which already handle the most patent litigation and which, in the opinions of some, may have the most to lose from the Europeanisation and consequent dilution of their special talent and experience for patent litigation: Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Those who consider the proposal incompatible with the Treaty include Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Italy -- where the Union's best and most beautiful beaches are to be found.