The EU Council's
Document 9124/08, addressing the
Working Party on Intellectual Property (Patents), is the grandly-titled Draft Agreement on the European Union Patent Judiciary. This document, which was agreed last week, is 49 pages in length and tackles, among other issues, professional representation before the proposed Community Patent court. It states:
"Article 28: Representation
(1) The parties shall be represented by lawyers authorized to practise before a court of a Contracting Party who may be assisted by a European Patent Attorney, who is a national of a Contracting Party entitled to act as professional representative before the European Patent Office (hereafter: European Patent Attorney), and/or by patent attorneys with proven patent litigation experience.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph 1, European Patent Attorneys and patent attorneys with proven patent litigation experience who are in possession of a European Union Litigation Certificate may represent the parties in actions for revocation of a patent before the central division.
(3) Representatives of the parties and their assistants shall enjoy the rights and immunities necessary to the independent exercise of their duties.
(4) Representatives of the parties and their assistants shall be obliged not to misrepresent cases or facts before the Court either knowingly or with good reasons to know".
I can foresee problems here for sole and/or occasional practitioners in the field of patent litigation. Thoughts, please?
The EU Council's Document 9124/08, addressing the Working Party on Intellectual Property (Patents), is the grandly-titled Draft Agreement on the European Union Patent Judiciary. This document, which was agreed last week, is 49 pages in length and tackles, among other issues, professional representation before the proposed Community Patent court. It states: 
