The protection of industrial inventions: analysis of the regulation and policy evaluation

The Italian and European regulatory framework for patents would benefit from further improvements in order to foster dynamic competition between Italian firms. At the national level the exclusive allocation of the right to patent inventions to universities, rather than to researchers, would promote better commercial exploitation. At the European level a more integrated system of protection (provision of a single patent that is valid in all Member States, the abolition of translation requirements, a unitary system of fees, and the integration of the litigation system) is essential to lower costs and expand the geographic scope of the protection, thus fostering dynamic competition. Further improvements in the language requirements are needed. The objective of reducing the cost of patenting inventions without raising costs for competitors would be better achieved were English the sole official language of the system (instead of the present choice between English, French and German), to make it easier for competitors to know which is the valid version of the patent.