A European Unitary Patent and a Unified Patent Court in 2023 (Source EPO)
The European Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court (UPC), which have been under discussion for many years, are announced to be operational in 2023.
Unitary Patents will make it possible to obtain protection in the 25 Member States of the European Union that have ratified the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court by filing a single patent application with the European Patent Office (EPO). It will be based on the European patent granted by the EPO.
This Unitary Patent will not replace the current European patent. But once a European patent is granted, the holder will be able to request unitary effect and thus obtain a European Unitary Patent ensuring uniform protection in the EU Member States that have ratified this Agreement.
At the same time, the Unified Patent Court, which is an integral part of the European patent system, will become the only Court competent to rule on the infringement and validity of Unitary Patents and “classic” European patents. The Court of First Instance will be based in Paris and the Court of Appeal in Luxembourg.
To be continued in 2023.
Our team is at your disposal for any information on obtaining this unitary effect and on how to avoid the jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court.
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