Course: The Unitary Patent

  • 1

    Basic information about the Unitary Patent system – its economic impact and how it fits into the existing European patent framework – has been published in two digital brochures in four languages. Stakeholders are invited to use these as part of their own outreach and training activities, and to share them with their own communities. These will be periodically updated, so check back here to find the latest version. 

  • 2

    The Unitary Patent System - a game-changer for innovation in Europe, was a high-level conference attended by over 250 persons in Brussels on 17 November 2022, with over 1000 more following the livestream online. The event was hosted by Ministry of the Economy of Belgium, in partnership with the European Commission and the European Patent Office.

  • 3

    The Unitary Patent will supplement and strengthen the existing centralised European patent granting system and will make it possible to obtain uniform patent protection in up to 25 EU member states by submitting a single request to the EPO. It will offer users of the patent system a cost-effective option for patent protection and dispute settlement across Europe.  

  • 4

    Three experts with great knowledge of Europe’s new single court for patents have been interviewed by Stefan Luginbuehl (Head of Department European Legal Affairs, EPO, and Unitary Patent package expert). They explain the functioning of the Unified Patent Court which came into operation on 1 June 2023.

  • 5

    The EPO’s Patent Knowledge Team have prepared the “Patent Knowledge Nuggets”, a series of detailed short videos describing specific features and explaining tricks and tips for our online data tools, like the European Patent Register and Espacenet. Not all of these videos relate to the Unitary Patent, but for those which do, a link to the video is placed here.

    More videos will be produced once the Unitary Patent system begins.

  • 6

    On 7 and 8 April 2022, the EPO held the first of two UPP IT workshops to inform users about the changes made to the existing IT infrastructure for the new UP system to make it easier for them in future to access and use the necessary tools and forms.

    Find below the material of the workshop.

  • 7

    On 08 and 09 June 2022 the EPO held the EPO Patent Data User Days aimed at patent data specialists. The first day looked at the impact of the Unitary Patent on EPO bulk data sets and services and focused on latest information on Unitary Patent implementation from both legal and IT perspectives.

    Find below the programme of the online event, as well as the material of the first day.

  • 8

    One of the main topics of Patent Knowledge Week 2022 was the upcoming Unitary Patent. A dedicated block in the conference programme introduced the framework of the Unitary Patent, highlighted its economic impact and gave insight into the newly founded Unified Patent Court. These presentations were complemented by an overview on the Unitary Patent in the various EPO patent information tools and services and a panel discussion addressing the opportunities and challenges for SMEs.