European Commission to commission research into IP systems

The IPKat notes that the European Commission's DG Internal Market has recently issued two IP-related invitations to tender (both available here).

One concerns patent quality and is described thus:

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Internal Market and Services plans to conclude a contract for a comprehensive study on patent quality. The aim is to study the quality of patent rights with economic analysis in order to propose effective policy solutions for the optimal functioning of the future patent system in Europe considering its objectives to encourage innovation and the diffusion of new technology and knowledge. This should take into account a system with the co-existence of national and European patents, and a future Community patent which is currently being negotiated between Member States.

The other is a wide-ranging study into the trade mark system, described as follows:

comprehensive study on the overall functioning of the trademark system in Europe. The study shall assess the current state of play of the Community trademark system and the potential for improvement and future development. As the Community trademark system is closely linked to national trademark systems, the study shall also evaluate national systems and, in particular, the relation and interaction between the 2 systems, including the need for further harmonisation. The results shall, in particular, serve as basis for future review of the trademark system as a whole and enhanced cooperation between the Office for Harmonisation on the Internal Market (OHIM) and the national trademark offices of Member States.

The IPKat wonders whether the timing of the two so close together is coincidental. The trade marks project in particular is mega - looking across both substantive and more procedural law (and all within the space of a year). Merpel notes the Commission's optimism regarding the fate of the Community patent...