Unitary Patent

Sam Gyimah MP, Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, announced yesterday (26 April 2018) that the UK has ratified the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA). The announcement came during Mr Gyimah’s speech at the IPAN World IP Day event held in the House of Commons. Mr Gyimah said “Ratification of […]

On 11 January, Latvia ratified the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA), bringing the total number of ratifications to fifteen. As it stands, applicants will be able to protect their inventions in at least 17 countries (the existing 14 plus UK and Germany) with a single Unitary Patent (UP) when the system is implemented. […]

On Thursday 24 August, Lithuania ratified the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA), bringing the total number of ratifications to fourteen. As it stands, applicants will be able to protect their inventions in at least 16 countries (the existing 14 plus UK and Germany) with a single Unitary Patent (UP) when the system is […]

Estonia has ratified the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA). Estonia’s ratification means that the geographical protection provided by the Unitary Patent (UP) upon implementation will cover to at least 15 countries. The complete list of countries to have ratified the UPCA can be found here but must also include the UK and Germany […]

The UK has set in motion the legislative process to remove the final legal impediment to ratification of the UPCA. The UKIPO has confirmed today that the Unified Patent Court (UPC) related Statutory Instrument (the “Order on Privileges and Immunities”) has been laid before Parliament, alongside equivalent legislation for Scotland being scheduled for discussion in […]

The unitary patent system offers much greater simplicity for users. Instead of having to validate and renew a granted European patent on a country-by-country basis, innovators will be able to achieve the same protection with a single Unitary Patent maintained by a single renewal fee. That means fewer deadlines to remember and fewer reminder emails […]

The Unitary Patent Court will have a common process and timeline for all of its divisions throughout Europe. This will increase the clarity of procedure before the UPC, and reduce delay. It means that a UPC litigator can be assured that a case brought in Stockholm will be handled the same as a case in […]

For businesses in the UK and other English-speaking countries, there is a clear advantage to being able to litigate in one’s mother tongue. This will be possible at all Unified Patent Court hearings. Costly translations can therefore be avoided. Once the unitary patent system is established it will also no longer be necessary to obtain […]

Where previously a European patent may have only been validated in, say, five EU countries, the Unitary Patent will eventually cover 25 of the 28 member states for a lower cost to that of the five previously. These “bonus” countries could provide unexpected benefits to companies. Infringements can arise anytime and anywhere, so the impressive […]

The Unified Patent Court will resolve cases much more quickly than is possible under the current system. If a case is brought, it will be processed and a judgment passed down within a year. This means that businesses can bring their case to court more quickly if needed. The Court also intends to hear trials […]

SMEs can greatly benefit from the Unitary Patent (UP) and the UPC. Not only does the UP provide substantial savings on renewal fees across the entire (eventual) 25 UP territories but the UPC also offers several other benefits to SMEs. Firstly, the UPC offers a centralised approach for European IP disputes (substantially cheaper than multiple […]

It is expected that the UPC will provide robust decisions as a result of the standardised practices between divisions and the diverse and well trained pool of judges. This ensures that issues can be expertly tried and decisions relied upon in territories previously unaccustomed to handling large volumes of patent litigation. This consistency of practice […]

Firstly, the use of a single court system avoids the scenario of different courts in different countries reaching conflicting opinions on the issue of infringement.  Even more appealing, as the Unitary Patent covers a large number of European territories, is that it will be possible to use the court to seek relief for infringing activities […]

The Unitary Patent system will be cost effective for everyone. It becomes cheaper per country when compared to the traditional bundle of European patents as you seek to protect your invention in an increasing number of countries. Specifically, the annual cost of renewing a Unitary Patent will be equivalent to the cost of renewing individual […]

A Unitary Patent will provide protection spanning most of the countries of the European Union (except for Spain, Poland and Croatia, at least for the time being). With a population of over half a billion people and a GDP valued at more than $18 trillion, this region represents the largest single market in the world. […]

On Friday 10 February 2017, Italy became the latest country to ratify the UPCA, bringing the total number of ratifications to twelve. As ten other non-mandatory countries, plus France, have already ratified the Agreement (listed here), the ratification of Italy was not required to initiate the UPC. However, with Italy being the fourth largest economy […]

An official statement from the Unified Patent Court (UPC) website, published today (found here), has outlined a rough timetable for the UPC becoming operational. If all continues as expected, the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court (UPCA) and the Court itself should be up and running in December 2017. This would mean that the ‘Unitary […]

At the EU competitiveness council meeting today the UK Minister of State for Energy and Intellectual Property, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, indicated that the UK will ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement (see official press release here). UPC specialist and W&R Partner Russell Barton said: “We, at Withers & Rogers, are delighted the UK government has chosen […]

The Netherlands recently became the eleventh country to ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement. This marks a key point in the implementation of the UPC, as now only the mandatory ratification by Germany and the UK is necessary to bring the UPC Agreement into force. Prior to the recent EU Referendum, the UK was expected […]

Brexit On 23 June 2016, the British people voted in a referendum on whether the UK should remain a member of the European Union. Just under 52% of voters voted to leave the EU, against just over 48% who voted that the UK should remain part of the EU. As a result, the UK will […]

On 3 June 2016, Bulgaria became the tenth country to ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement by depositing its instrument of ratification. This now leaves the UK, Germany and one other country to ratify before the Agreement takes effect. Please see our updated UP and UPC pages for the latest information.   James Mitchell Electronics, […]

The recruitment process for selecting the first group of UPC judges is now open. Candidates may apply to become a full-time or part-time judge until the closing date of 4 July 2016. Information on the selection process can be found here. The opening of the selection process marks a major step in the implementation of […]

On 19 January 2016, Finland deposited its instrument of ratification, becoming the ninth country to ratify the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement. This means that only four more countries, including the UK and Germany, are required to ratify the Agreement before it takes effect. Please see our updated UP and UPC pages for the latest […]

Unitary Patent (UP) The UP draws ever closer, and recent events suggest early 2017 is the hot favourite for commencement. If you haven’t considered the ramifications of the UP for your business yet, now is the time to start. The Select Committee, who set the rules and fees for the UP, recently announced that their […]

On Thursday 1 October 2015, seven EU Member States, including the UK, France and Germany, signed the Protocol to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC) on provisional application. This Protocol allows for the implementing of IT systems and recruitment of judges as well as other key provisions which must be completed before the […]

The European Commission confirmed on 30 September 2015 that Italy has become the 26th state to join the enhanced cooperation of the Unitary Patent protection. Given Italy’s previous reluctance to join, including pursuing a legal challenge against the Unitary Patent, this is a major success for the future of the Unitary Patent and the Unified […]

After completing the required formalities on 28 August 2015, Portugal became the latest country to ratify the UPC agreement, bringing the total number to eight. In order for the Unified Patent Court and the Unitary Patent to come into effect, 13 EU countries must ratify the Agreement, including the three largest member states in terms […]

On Wednesday, the EPO announced that the Select Committee of the Administrative Council had adopted the “True Top 4” proposal tabled by the European Patent Office on renewal fees applicable to the unitary patent. The “True Top 4” proposal, as we explained here, fixes the unitary patent renewal fees at levels equal to the sum […]

On 7 May 2015, the President of the European Patent Office, Benoît Battistelli, submitted an adjusted proposal for the renewal fees of the Unitary Patent for review by the Select Committee of the Administrative Council. The document, found here, begins with a brief discussion of the previous proposal. The first option in the previous proposal […]

Public consultation opened today regarding the court fees and recoverable costs at the Unitary Patent Court. The consultation period shall last 12 weeks, closing at midnight on 31 July. Responses should be sent to secretariat@unified-patent-court.org, preferably in English. We’ve picked out some key points from the document below, however, should you wish to review the consultation […]

Austria became the first country to take the steps necessary to bring the European Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court (UPC) into force, by ratifying the legislation on 7 August 2013. This milestone in the Unitary Patent project is welcomed, and paves the way for other countries to start the ratification process. In order for […]

Last month saw the prototype of the eFiling and Case Management System for the new Unified Patent Court (UPC) go live for testing. This represents an important step closer to the implementation of the UPC. The development team, coordinated by a UK-based taskforce, have chosen an off-the-shelf product on which to base the system. The […]