National measures accompanying the implementation of the unitary patent

It is expected that the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) will enter into force in spring 2023. At the same time the European Union regulation 1257/2012 and 1260/2012 will enter into force relating to the European patent with unitary effect (Unitary Patent) and the translation arrangements.

The booklet “National measures accompanying the implementation of the Unitary Patent” is inspired by the online publication “National law relating to the EPC” and contains information regarding the most important national measures accompanying the implementation of the Unitary Patent. It is accessible on the website of the EPO.

The booklet contains information about:

• a safety net for validating a EP patent in a participating member state in case the request for the unitary patent protection is rejected – this concerns for example the payment of annual fees, filing of a translation or other formalities;

• the simultaneous protection of a Unitary Patent or a classic European patent and a respective national patent;

• territorial field of application of a unitary patent, namely the effect of the unitary patent in overseas territories and areas; and

• other various aspects.

The booklet is regularly updated in its HTML version. A pdf version will be published soon.

The information published by the EPO depends on the information provided by the member states and the information may be not accurate or incomplete. The booklet is intended to give a first overview and before taking any decision the information is to be confirmed by a specialized national patent attorney, patent agent, or attorney-at-law.