With the Unitary Patent System on the brink of coming into force, patent applicants and holders have some importnat choices to make. Our experts give their view on the different ways forward.
The idea of a Europe-wide unified patent system is not new. It was first proposed at the 1973 European Patent Convention, but a lack of political will prevented its ratification.
Fast forward to 2022 and the landscape has changed. The Unitary Patent System and Unified Patent Court (UPC) will most likely come into force later this year, or at the beginning of 2023. These bodies will give patent applicants and holders the option of handing patent litigation in a centralized way, covering multiple European countries with the same framework. Read more