Application of the Unitary Patent system started

Mostar, June 9, 2023 - From June 1 began the application of the Unitary Patent system, which enables uniform patent protection in 17 member states of the European Union that have so far ratified the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court (UPC Agreement).

This system will operate in parallel with the existing national patent systems and the European Patent system managed by the European Patent Office (EPO), and the Unitary Patent system will also be administered by the EPO.

EU members in the Unitary Patent system are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden.

New system brings many significant improvements for users, including cost reduction, simplified procedures, increased transparency and increased legal certainty.

The new Unitary Patent is based on the European patent granted by the EPO under the rules of the European Patent Convention (EPC), so nothing changes in the pre-grant phase and the same high standards of quality search and examination apply. After a European patent is granted, the patent proprietor can request unitary effect, thereby getting a European patent with unitary effect (Unitary Patent) that provides uniform patent protection in initially 17 EU Member States.