1 Amendments of Ioannis A. TSOUKALAS related to 2011/0093(COD)
Amendment 15 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) Patent proprietors should pay one common annual renewal fee for European patents with unitary effect. Renewal fees should be progressive throughout the term of the patent protection and, together with the fees to be paid to the European Patent Organisation during the pre-grant stage, should cover all costs associated with the grant of the European patent and the administration of the unitary patent protection. The level of the renewal fees should be fixed with the aim of facilitating innovation and fostering the competitiveness of European businesses, and should take into account the specific situation of small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the urgent need to promote energy saving and the use of renewables in the form of lower fees. It should also reflect the size of the market covered by the patent and be similar to the level of the national renewal fees for an average European patent taking effect in the participating Member States at the time where the level of the renewal fees is first fixed by the Commission.