After 30 years of debate, EU ministers have agreed to introduce a joint EU-wide patent
system, which is intended to harmonize and decrease the cost of patents for companies in the
European Union. Currently, a product must be patented separately in every country where
protection is desired, and the cost of registering new inventions is three or five times as much
as in the United States or Japan. After a transition period, the agreement will also set up a
specialized tribunal in Luxembourg to oversee the judicial security of the new patent. EU
patents would be issued by the European Patent Office based in Munich and be valid throughout
the Union. EU leaders are expected to approve the agreement at a summit in Brussels scheduled
for March 20-21.