ABSTRACT
European intervention in the field of patent rights and associated areas of intellectual property has been extensive, but somewhat fragmented. Not all intervention has been through the European Community. The fundamental difference between the prospective Community patent system and the existing European Patent Convention structure is that the motivating forces behind them are different. The European Patent Convention gave rise to the European patent system in 1978, as a pragmatic response to the need of industry and commerce to reduce their costs in protecting their patent rights across the national borders of the Community. The idea underpinning the Convention is that where an application is made under its provisions and meets with success the result is that the applicant receives a bundle of national patents. The introduction of the European Patent Convention was a reaction against the failure of international co-operation to introduce an effective transnational system of patent protection, particularly in the European region.
