EU통합특허는 출범할 것인가? :- 통합특허에 대한 독일에서의 합헌성 논쟁을 보며-

The EU's Unitary Patent, which was expected to launch in mid-2017, is still pending. The reason of the standstill is that the constitutional complaint has been filed in Germany, and the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany would determine the fate of the patent integration in the EU. This article examines the legal grounds of the constitutional complaint that are meanwhile revealed in the media and internet materials, and upon those it examines the constitutionality of this development. First, this article will overview briefly the history of the EU's patent harmonization, which has leaded to the today’s system. Historically, the Unitary Patent has received a number of challenges and caused concerns. It will then explain the detailed circumstances in which the constitutional complaint has been raised. In sequence, it will discuss various constitutional issues which would be dealt with in the examination by the Court, and discuss on the admissibility and validity of those constitutional claims. In addition, this article attempts to consider what significance and implications each constitutional issue has towards Korea. Finally, it will try to synthetically evaluate the EU’s IP harmonization as a whole and to examine the possibility of developing such a patent cooperation outside the EU.