The Study Of European Union Patent Applications For Traditional Chinese Medicinal Products

The European Union(EU)is a union of twenty-seven independent states based on the European Communities and founded to enhance political,economic and social co-operation.Over the years,China and the EU have maintained good trade relations and cooperation.At present,EU is the largest trade partner for us. Herbal medicinal products have been used over 700 years in EU.This shows that the herbal market has great potential.The export volume of traditional Chinese medicines is increasing under the international economic environment.In view of the special nature of traditional Chinese medicine products and the importance of Intellectual Property Protection,based on the "European Patent Convention", the issue is necessary to for traditional Chinese medicine products in EU.However, the application is not easy as we thought.There are many technical barriers to trade and effects.At the same time, "The EU traditional herbal Act" is also a big barrier. We must solve these problems as soon as possible to change the status quo and the future fate of the EU's proprietary.This paper is based on the fourteenth "European Patent Convention" and status quo of traditional Chinese medicine products for applying patents in EU, discussing the background and significance, analyzing the feasibility, studying the management policies of the EU medicine, analyzing the application process, required documents and other aspects of concern. And then we will discuss potential obstacles and give some advices in order to provide the strategic reference for the patent application for traditional Chinese medicine products in EU.