From September 1, the European Patent Office (EPO; Munich) will, in theory at least, be able to grant patents covering genetically modified plant and animal varieties. On that date, a new regulation within the European Patent Convention (EPC) comes into effect, removing an awkward discrepancy between the EPC and the European Union's (EU's) directive on the patenting of biotechnology inventions concerning genetically modified organisms (GMOs). However, it is unlikely that any patents will actually be granted until next year, when the EPO's highest authority—the Enlarged Board of Appeal—hands down a verdict on an appeal case brought by Novartis (Basel, Switzerland).
The EPO is not an EU institution. Whereas all EU member states are signatories to the EPC, so too are a number of other European nations such as Switzerland, Norway, and former eastern bloc states such as Hungary and Bulgaria. The EPC provides a mechanism by which national patent applications in signatory countries can be "converted" to give an applicant equivalent intellectual property rights across all EPC members. When the EU's directive on the patenting of biotechnology inventions came into force (after 10 years of crafting) in July 1998, there were still discrepancies between it and the EPC. Further complicating the EPO's efforts at harmonization is the fact that, one year on, not all EU countries had translated the directive into their own national laws.
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