Unitary Patent System Celebrates its Second Anniversary

June 1st marked the second anniversary of the Unitary Patent System, which with the introduction of the Unitary Patent and the establishment of the Unitary Patent Court (UPC), represents the most significant development in European patent law in decades.  The system was introduced to simplify and reduce costs for securing European patent protection and settling patent disputes across participating European member states.

With the ratification of the UPC Agreement by Romania last September, there are now 18 EU countries party to the unitary patent system, the UK, Spain and Switzerland being notable exceptions.

Despite the scepticism which foreshadowed its introduction and some initial teething problems with IT systems, the unitary patent system has been embraced by industry and SMEs alike. More than 56,000 unitary patents have been registered by the European Patent Office to date, while the UPC has received over 800 cases - the majority being infringement and revocation actions.  It’s no surprise then that the European Commission considers its introduction a great success!

But while this may all sound like great news, what does it mean for you and your business?  Are you confused by the existence of this new system which runs in parallel with the existing ‘classical’ European patent system where the national courts hear patent disputes? More importantly, how does this affect your IP strategy – do you need to change or tweak it  – indeed, is it still fit for purpose?

Maybe as a first step you would like to find out more about the unitary patent system and its relative strengths opposite the classical European patent system?  If so, why not check out some of our training courses.