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Europe 'better' at coping with patent trolls

Cape Town - The phenomenon of patent trolls is not as much of a problem in Europe as it is in the US, says the European Patent Office's president who has been in South Africa this week.

US courts have had to deliver judgements on increased litigation by so-called patent trolls - companies that specialise in suing over alleged patent infringements.

"In Europe we don't have so much this phenomenon of patent trolls," Benoît Battistelli, president of the European Patent Office told Fin24 in Cape Town.

In many cases, even if the patent troll loses the case, there are considerable legal fees that have to be paid by the defendants.

The US Congress is expected to adopt the Innovation Act, which is planned to make frivolous lawsuits around patents harder to pursue. The Act also has the support of many in the tech community who often face the worst end of these lawsuits.

Legal framework

However, trial lawyers, drugs and biotech companies oppose the current bill as going too far, causing lawmakers to defer the proposed law.

The tech industry, though, has borne the brunt of frivolous lawsuits with Yahoo alone spending in excess of $100m fighting patent trolls since 2007.

In Europe, the legal framework is better able to cope with trolls, Battistelli explained.

"For one reason is that we are more rigorous that the US in the patent granting process. Another reason is also the difference in our judicial system," said Battistelli.

There are hundreds of patents in an iPhone. (Duncan Alfreds, Fin24)

He said that patent officers must ensure that patents fulfill the requirements of being a specific new invention, rather than an adaptation of existing technology.

"The issue is for the patent office to deliver a quality patent and a quality patent is a patent which is legally solid. For that you have to have a very comprehensive search in order to be sure that the invention is new - it's the most important part," Battistelli insisted.

In 2014, 274 174 patents (an increase of 3.1%) were filed with his office, compared with 71 745 in the US and 48 657 in Japan. Samsung was the top applicant with 2 541 patents, followed by Philips (2 541) and Siemens (2 317).

Detailed examination

Battistelli, who oversees a staff compliment of around 7 000, said that each patent with all accompanying documentation is examined by at least three officers, compared to only one in most other jurisdictions.

He credits this system with reducing the need for lawsuits and the huge legal fees that are associated with it.

"There are 10 times fewer trial in Europe concerning the validity of patents than you have in the US."

Watch Benoît Battistelli talk to News24 Live in this exclusive online video:

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