Tech investment set back by EU falling-out

The patents system - both the lifeblood and the Achilles' heel of technology innovation - took a knock on Thursday with the news that plans for a Europe-wide patent had been shelved again.

The idea of one patent system covering the European Union isn't exactly new - it's been under discussion for more than 30 years - but the latest proposals had seen a consensus between 13 countries. However, the Spanish and German contingents disagreed, nixing the plan.

The deal originally on the table would have been good news for small tech companies, halving the price of patenting inventions from €50,000 to €25,000.

The divisive point? Language. The need for all patents to be translated into a range of languages, the objectors said, would hold up applications and could have a knock-on effect if a patent had been translated incorrectly.

The German delegates also disagreed with a proposal to create a central court to adjudicate on patent matters across the EU.

Fritz Bolkestein, the EU's single market commissioner, didn't mince his words on the subject. He said he was "bitterly disappointed" and hoped to see the interests of the manufacturing win out over "vested interests."

Technology patents have proved big business in recent months. Eolas recently won – then had annulled - its $521m claim for patent infringement against Microsoft, while ecommerce giant Amazon is currently being sued by Open Market over its shopping-cart feature.

King of the patents is Big Blue, which filed a record 3,415 patents in 2003 and notched up its eleventh year at No.1.