The Patent Court in Milan will decide on fashion and food – Corriere.it

official: Milan will be the seat of the third section of the European Patent Court, the Tub. Yesterday the administrative committee unanimously ratified the decision that had already been announced at the end of May. a significant result for Italy – declared Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani -. An unexpected result that confirms the central role of Italy, the Lombard capital and Lombardy. The assignment will bring great benefits from an economic and jurisdictional point of view, underlined the Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, recalling that Italy, after Brexit, is the third European nation by number of patents.

What skills will Milan have

The Milan section will judge patent disputes belonging to Section A which includes the pharmaceutical, agri-food, phytosanitary sectors, as well as the fashion system, explains the Farnesina. While pharmaceutical patents with supplementary protection certificates (Spc) are not included and will most likely remain in Paris. Milan would therefore not inherit all the powers that had been assigned to London, which had to give up its court offices following Brexit. And it is precisely on this point that the criticisms of the opposition dwell. Will Milan have the skills envisaged for the London office? Otherwise he is giving us the good news of the arrival of an empty box, wrote the vice president and dem deputy of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber, Lia Quartapelle, on Twitter, commenting on the announcement of the assignment to Milan.

Experts are divided on whether or not this loss will reduce the role of the Lombard capital. From the point of view of the functioning of the system, it would be better not to divide the cases relating to pharmaceutical patents from those relating to complementary protection certificates, which will probably go to Paris. However, it cannot be said that Milan has lost much or has reduced skills given that the portion of pharmaceutical patents that will reach Italy is the most significant, the lawyer Laura Orlando, managing partner in Italy of Herbert Smith Freehills. With regard to the role that Italy will play, sources close to the government recall that Section A, which has been assigned to Milan, represents around 20% of European patent applications filed in the last 5 years and around 26% of patent disputes at national level. EU. For the mayor of Milan, Beppe Sala, the assignment of the headquarters of the Third European section is the result of a great joint effort. At work now to demonstrate the validity of the choice and to expand the powers that have been assigned to us with the government, concluded the mayor.

Confcommercio: Positive news

Confcommercio also expresses satisfaction with the result achieved. The choice of Milan as the seat of the third section of the Unified Patent Court is very positive news for the entrepreneurial system, for our city and for the country, says Carlo Sangalli, president of Confcommercio. The president of Farmindustria Marcello Cattani speaks of a positive result for the city and for Italy, but we need to understand what the real skills of the pharmaceutical industry are. Cattani points out that it is not clear whether the May agreements are confirmed or an enlargement is envisaged, we are waiting.