ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the governance of patents in Europe, from the perspective of differentiated integration and – especially – alternative integration. Whereas the so-called patent package, consisting of the Unitary Patent (UP) and the Unified Patent Court (UPC), has been highlighted as a prime example of enhanced cooperation in the EU, this chapter argues that the UP/UPC constitute a promising enhanced cooperation scheme within the European Patent Organisation, more than within the EU. The chapter first maps the wider picture of European patent governance, taking a historical approach, starting from the late 1940s. It then discusses in more detail the pan-European patent system that started in 1973, through the European Patent Convention (EPC), based upon work in the Council of Europe, as a form of alternative integration outside the EU framework, that ‘won’ the competition against a European Economic Community (EEC)-based solution. It also addresses the integration efforts in this field within the framework of the Nordic Council and the ill-fated 1966 proposal for a Nordic patent. Finally, it discusses the main (policy) implications of the UP/UPC for the EU in its relationship with the European Patent Organisation.
