French President urged to end delays to ratification of London Agreement on patents

French parliamentarians, industry executives and researchers have called on the French President immediately to timetable National Assembly discussion of the ratification of the London Agreement, which will reduce translation requirements for European patents.

Seven countries, including Germany and the UK, have already ratified the agreement, but France, despite the fact that it was at the origin of the agreement, is dragging its feet. As the agreement requires ratification from eight countries including Germany, the UK and France, it cannot take effect until France signs up.

The delays have taxed the patience of leading French researchers and industrialists who released a 'National appeal for innovation'. The signatories include national institute for health and medical research (Inserm) chairman Christian Brechot and national centre for scientific research (CNRS) chairwoman Catherine Brechignac, as well as France Biotech's honorary chairman Philippe Pouletty.

Defenders of the London Agreement highlight the fact that it will reduce the price of European patents, at a time when '40% of French industrial SMEs say that they do not file for European patents because the cost is too high,' according to the 'appeal for innovation'.

Under the current European patent system, patents must be translated into the official language of each European country where protection is sought. The London Agreement restricts this obligation to the 'claims' part of the patent. The rest of the patent may be in English, French or German only, with full translation only necessary in case of dispute.

The French Constitutional Council's ruled in September that the agreement does not conflict with the fundamental law stipulating that French is the language of the Republic.