"European companies are suffering from an ineffective patent system "

The Economist reports on the inefficiency of the European patent system, since patents authorized by the European Patent Office must be validated, translated and annually renewed in all" 27 members of the European Union and nine other European countries. Moreover, litigation of a patent dispute takes place in each affected country under the laws of that country.

At least some of the developing regions of the world have tried to establish effective regional intellectual property rights systesm.