To the difference of trademarks and designs, protection of patents in Europe essentially rests on national law only. The 'European patent' as granted by the European Patent Organization through the European Patent Office, while internationally uniform as to the conditions of the grant,...

While international patent law harmonization has been an issue in progress since the conclusion of the Paris Convention in 1883, it is facing new challenges due to its rising prominence in a knowledge-based economy and the world's growing sensitivity to the patent system's social and economic...