The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court

Unitary Patent

The Unitary Patent is a single legal title which is valid in all those Member States of the European Union that have decided to participate. As such, it can only be maintained, limited, revoked, or allowed to lapse with effect for all participating EU Member States.

At present, 17 EU Member States are committed to take part in the unitary patent and the UPC from the beginning on, i.e. Austria (AT), Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), Denmark (DK), Estonia (EE), Finland (FI), France (FR), Germany (DE), Italy (IT), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Malta (MT), the Netherlands (NL), Portugal (PT), Slovenia (SI), and Sweden (SE). Further EU Member States are expected to join in the near future. Conversely, countries that are not Member States of the EU are not allowed to participate in the unitary patent and the UPC.

Unified Patent Court

The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is a Court, comprising judges from all participating Member States of the European Union. It is set up to decide in particular on the infringement and validity of both Unitary Patents and classic European Patents. The UPC is a Court common to currently seventeen EU Member States for which the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) will enter into force on 1 June 2023.

We offer you advice on the full spectrum of UPC matters.