Editing Unitary patent (section)

===Since 2005: stalemate and new debate===
[[Image:Charlie McCreevy portrait.jpg|thumb|left|In 2007, [[Charlie McCreevy]] was quoted as saying that the proposal for an EU-wide patent was stuck in the [[mud]].]]

Thus, in 2005, the Community patent looked unlikely to be implemented in the near future. However, on 16 January 2006 the [[European Commission]] "launched a public consultation on how future action in patent policy to create an EU-wide system of protection can best take account of stakeholders' needs." The Community patent was one of the issues the consultation focused on.<ref>[http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/38&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en European Commission, Internal Market, ''Commission asks industry and other stakeholders for their views on future patent policy'', Brussels, 16 January 2006],</ref> More than 2500 replies were received.<ref name="Stakeholders debate"/> According to the European Commission, the consultation showed that there is widespread support for the Community patent but not at any cost, and "in particular not on the basis of the Common Political Approach reached by EU Ministers in 2003".<ref name="Stakeholders debate"/>

In February 2007, [[European Commission|EU Commissioner]] [[Charlie McCreevy]] was quoted as saying:
{{blockquote|The proposal for an EU-wide patent is stuck in the mud. It is clear to me from discussions with member states that there is no consensus at present on how to improve the situation.<ref>Chris Jones, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070204044554/http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/News/200702/7be97fa5-3cb6-403f-aadf-103ad99a9950.htm ''McCreevy backs plans for single EU-US market''], TheParliament.com, 1 February 2007. Consulted on 2 February 2007.</ref> }}

The European Commission released a white paper in April 2007 seeking to "improve the patent system in Europe and revitalise the debate on this issue."<ref>Commission of the European Communities,
[http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/06/786&format=PDF&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en ''Communication from the European Parliament and the Council – Enhancing the patent system in Europe''], Brussels, COM (2007), 29 March 2007</ref> On 18 April 2007, at the European Patent Forum in [[Munich]], Germany, [[Günter Verheugen]], vice-president of the European Commission, said that his proposal to support the [[European economy]] was "to have the London Agreement ratified by all member states, and to have a European patent judiciary set up, in order to achieve rapid implementation of the Community patent, which is indispensable".<ref name="epo 20.04.07">European Patent Office web site, [http://www.epo.org/focus/news/2007/070420.html ''"An incomplete European patent system puts European businesses at a competitive disadvantage"''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120123906/http://www.epo.org/focus/news/2007/070420.html |date=20 November 2008 }}. Consulted on 20 April 2007.</ref> He further said that he believed this could be done within five years.<ref name="epo 20.04.07"/><ref>[[CORDIS]] News, [http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=27536 ''Forum on the future of IP vows to push ahead with Community Patent''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524072808/http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=27536 |date=24 May 2013 }}, 20 April 2007</ref>

In October 2007, the Portuguese [[presidency of the Council of the European Union]] proposed an EU patent jurisdiction, "borrowing heavily from the rejected draft European Patent Litigation Agreement (EPLA)".<ref>Huw Jones, [https://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSL1128205820071011 ''EU president Portugal proposes new patent courts''], Reuters, 11 October 2007.</ref> In November 2007, EU ministers were reported to have made some progress towards a community patent legal system, with "some specific results" expected in 2008.<ref>Huw Jones, [https://www.theguardian.com/feedarticle?id=7097030 ''Ministers make progress along road to EU patent'']{{Dead link|date=September 2009}}, [[The Guardian]], 22 November 2007. Consulted on 24 November 2007.</ref>

In 2008, the idea of using [[machine translation]]s to translate patents was proposed to solve the language issue, which is partially responsible for blocking progress on the community patent.<ref>James Nurton, [http://www.managingip.com/Article/1918807/Translation-breakthrough-for-Community-patent.html ''Translation breakthrough for Community patent''], [[Managing Intellectual Property]], Weekly News, 26 April 2008. Consulted on 7 May 2008.</ref><ref>Council of the European Union, [http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st08/st08928.en08.pdf ''Towards a Community patent – Translation arrangements and distribution of fees''], Working Document, 8928/08, 28 April 2008, pp 3–6.</ref> Meanwhile, European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry [[Günter Verheugen]] declared at the European Patent Forum in May 2008 that there was an "urgent need" for a community patent.<ref>James Nurton, [http://www.managingip.com/Article/1927639/Verheugen-adds-to-Community-patent-momentum.html ''Verheugen adds to Community patent momentum''], Managing Intellectual Property, Weekly News, 6 May 2008. Consulted on 7 May 2008.</ref>