The Unitary Patent officially enters into force
As known, a patent is a legal title which guarantees its owner the right, in a specific country and for a certain period of time (in Italy, 20 years), to prevent third parties from exploiting an invention for commercial purposes without the authorization of the holder.
From today, 1 June 2023, the Unitary Patent enters into force, following an “enhanced cooperation” procedure, initiated by 25 (out of 27) EU Member States and authorized by the European Union with EU Regulations 1257 /2012 and 1260/2012.
Italy joined in 2015, ratifying the Agreement with law n. 214 of 2016.
The unitary patent and its protection in member countries
The Unitary Patent is issued by the European Patent Office, following a procedure initiated by a single application, presented to the EPO (on the site, alternatively, at the offices or by post) and grants the holder patent protection contemporary, for 20 (twenty) years, in the following 17 countries (out of 25) which, to date, have ratified the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court (UPC): Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta , Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Portugal, Austria, Bulgaria.
The difference with the European and national patent
However, the Unitary Patent does not replace the European Patent and the national patent, but complements them, with the aim of making the patent protection procedure in the European context simpler, leaner, cheaper and legally secure.
In fact, on the one hand, the national patent allows the owner of the invention or of the innovative procedure to obtain, for the following 20 years, protection limited to national borders.
On the other hand, the European Patent – provided for by the European Patent Convention, signed in Munich on 5 October 1973 – allows every citizen or resident of a Member State to obtain, following a single procedure started at the EPO , the same patent protection that it would obtain, separately, in each of the individual EU Member States designated in the initial application (once the validation of the patent has been obtained in each of the aforementioned States).
Therefore, together with the European Patent, the Unitary Patent provides for the presentation of a single application, at the EPO, and twenty-year protection.
However, unlike the first one:
- the protection of the invention is universally guaranteed in all Member States that have ratified the Agreement establishing the Unitary Patent.
- Therefore, in the initial application, the owner of the invention / process does not have to indicate the Member States where he wishes to obtain patent protection.
- The procedure for granting the Unitary Patent will be unique and will not provide (as in the European Patent) for “ramification” into as many procedures as there are Member States in which patent protection is to be obtained.
In the event of a dispute, the Authority competent to decide is the Unified Patent Court (UPC), with offices in Paris and Munich; while for the European Patent, the court of the designated Member State, where the dispute arises and the patent is effective, has jurisdiction.
The Unified Patent Court
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) – which also becomes operational today, like the Unitary Patent – is exclusively competent to decide on both European and unitary patent applications, as well as on complementary protection certificates (SPC) .
It is competent to decide any dispute relating to the patent title and the judicial procedure, as mentioned above, is unique. Finally, the final provision is valid and effective, simultaneously, in all countries that have ratified the Agreement on the TUB.
Every aspect relating to the competencies, composition and procedure of the Unified Patent Court will be fully explored in the following article.
