| Europäisches Patentamt

Final preparations for the start of the Unitary Patent


8 February 2022

EPO President António Campinos yesterday met with Alexander
Ramsay, Chair of the Unified Patent Court Preparatory Committee, the representatives
of the participating member states in charge of the five work streams for the
Preparatory Committee, as well as Jérôme Debrulle, the Chair of the Select
Committee of the Administrative Council in charge of the Unitary Patent. The
meeting enabled participants to update each other on progress in preparing the
remaining tasks to be undertaken for the launch of the Unitary Patent and
Unified Patent Court (UPC).

President Campinos emphasised the
importance of close co-operation between all partners in the final preparatory
phase: „The start of the provisional
application period last month gave the signal that the UPC/UPP package will soon
become a reality,“ he said. „I am confident that thanks to the well-proven
co-operation of our dedicated teams and the coordination of our joint efforts,
we will be able to deliver the final tasks as planned and usher in the
long-awaited Unitary Patent to the benefit of our users.“

Alexander Ramsay, Chair of the UPC Preparatory Committee,
stated: „It is hugely encouraging to have come this far. We are now highly
motivated to work, together with our partners, to conclude the preparations.“

Jérôme Debrulle, Chair of the Select Committee, said: „This
major long-awaited reform of the European patent system has never been so
close. The EPO Select Committee in charge of the implementation of the Unitary
Patent will complete its work by 30 June 2022. The main task which remains on
its agenda is the finalisation of an ambitious communication programme in the
interest of users and the EPO member states.“

The Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court are the
building blocks of the Unitary Patent package which will supplement and
strengthen the existing centralised European patent-granting system. Unitary
patents will make it possible to obtain uniform patent protection in the
participating EU member states which have ratified the UPC Agreement, by
submitting a single request to the EPO, making the protection of inventions for
patent holders simpler and more cost effective.

The UPC will be a common court of the
participating member states with jurisdiction for infringement and
revocation actions concerning patents granted by the EPO. This specialised
court will make the Europe-wide enforcement of patents easier, offer greater
legal certainty and reduce costs resulting from litigation in multiple
jurisdictions.

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