UNITARY PATENT / UNIFIED PATENT COURT
Delaying grant of a European Patent to obtain a Unitary Patent
With 1 October 2022 being the possible start date of the Unitary Patent system, applicants achieving allowance of their European patent applications in the coming months may wish to delay grant so as to obtain a Unitary Patent (UP).
When will the Unified Patent Court go live?
The Unitary Patent (UP) and the Unified Patent Court (UPC) are now anticipated to go live on 1 June 2023, when the UPC Agreement (UPCA) is planned to enter into force.
The Unitary Patent
The UP will, for the first time, offer patent proprietors the option to have a single patent covering multiple EU member states (17 at the time of writing, likely to be more in the future). As an alternative, the current “classical” validation route in different states will continue.
Will unitary Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) follow the introduction of the Unitary Patent (UP) and the Unified Patent Court (UPC)?
SPCs are national rights that apply to certain pharmaceutical and plant protection products that have been authorized for use by the regulatory authorities. Will they follow the introduction of the UP/UPC?
The Greenshoots Podcast by Appleyard Lees – episode 28 – Understanding the Unified Patent Court (UPC)
In this episode, partners and patent attorneys Kate Hickinson and Julia Gwilt discuss possible scenarios relating to how the UPC might work in practice, including considering the pros and cons of using this new court for infringement and invalidity actions.
Do the Unitary Patent (UP) and Unified Patent Court (UPC) offer advantages for SMEs and universities?
As an incentive for patent proprietors such as SMEs and universities to opt for the Unitary Patent, the new system has introduced the possibility of financial compensation for these proprietors in certain circumstances.
