Previous Attempts to Create a Unitary Patent Protection
The proposal was reformulated in 2009, after the entry into
force of the Lisbon Treaty, which introduced a new legal basis for
the creation of EU IP rights. According to article 118 of the
TFEU1, the creation of European IP rights follows the
co-decision procedure, where the European Parliament must vote on
the Commission's proposal, and the Council votes by qualified
majority. However, any language arrangements for the European IP
rights require unanimity in the Council and only the consultation
of the European Parliament.
Even though a general approach was agreed on in late 2009,
between the EU ministers, regarding the creation of the EU patent,
the translation arrangements remained out of the scope of the
agreement. Discussion on the translation arrangements continued
throughout 2010. However, it soon became clear that the required
unanimity would not be reached. In light of this, several member
states
