The unified patent is designed to harmonise regulations in 25 EU states. Its main effects will be to create standard terms for an applicable language regime as well as a unified litigation system.

Open for filing

Under the scheme, litigation will fall under an international convention and an as-yet-to-be launched European Unified Patent Court, which will have first instance and appeal levels. The court will have exclusive jurisdiction over infringement and validity matters.
The final deal creating the unitary regime is set to be signed on 18 February, with requests for patents under its provisions open for filing once 13 EU states have given the package a green light.
Senior figures at the European Patent Office welcomed the move. Its president, Benoît Battistelli, said in a statement: ‘The EU is to be congratulated on this decision ... which we have been waiting for in Europe for 40 years. The significant lowering of the cost of patenting inventions in Europe will strongly benefit European enterprises, especially research centres and SMEs.’

Uneven playing field

His views were broadly supported by leading specialist lawyers, although with a caveat. Claire Bennett, an intellectual property and technology partner at the London office of Anglo-US global law firm DLA Piper, commented: ‘The new system will be a game-changer in how businesses inside and outside Europe obtain and enforce patents in Europe. The aim of these proposals is to harmonise the position across Europe and reduce the costs for businesses of patent protection in Europe.’
But Ms Bennett went on to say ‘the new system will create an uneven playing field, as the national law that will apply to the unitary patent will vary, for example, based on the location of the business. No-one can doubt that having a single system is, in principle, a good idea. But, the devil is in the detail of how the system has been implemented’.