European Parliament Supports Unified Patents

But the corpses of Spain and Italy object

The system would allow inventors to register their innovation with a single European Union (EU) authority rather than in each of its 27 member states, and is designed to save time and money.

There would also be a unified patent-court system. The move is due to be introduced in 2014.

But Spain and Italy continue to oppose the change, saying the new regime would discriminate against their languages.