European Patent
At the request of 12 Member States, the Commission proposed to launch enhanced cooperation in the area of unitary patent protection on December 14, 2010. Following the Commission's decision, another 13 Member States submitted their request to join the enhanced cooperation. The European Parliament gave its consent on February 15 and on March 10, 2011, the Competitiveness Council authorised the launch of enhanced cooperation with the participation of 25 Member States.
The implementation of the authorising Council decision requires the adoption of two regulations; one on the creation of unitary patent protection and a second on the applicable translation arrangements.
