The European Unitary Patent will be introduced by the EU in June 2023. At the start, the European Unitary Patent will be enforceable in the 17 Expresses that have confirmed the arrangement between the EU and the EPO: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, and Sweden. The purpose of this kind of patent is to make it easier and less expensive to obtain patent protection in multiple EU nations. Presently, acquiring patent security in numerous EU nations requires separate applications and installments to every individual nation’s patent office. The European Unitary Patent is regarded as a significant development that is expected to streamline the EU’s patenting procedure.
The European Unitary Patent’s enforceability will increase as more nations ratify the agreement. The European Unitary Patent will ultimately be legitimate in 25 partaking EU nations: Cypress, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and the 17 States recorded previously. With a single application and a single set of renewal fees, patent holders will be able to protect their inventions across multiple EU Member States. It is essential to keep in mind that only the EU nations that have ratified the agreement at the time of application will be eligible for a Unitary Patent. This framework will likewise give a solitary locale to the case to challenge or safeguard the legitimacy of a patent. As a result, it is anticipated that the European Unitary Patent will also result in a more uniform legal framework for intellectual property rights throughout the EU and cut down on the legal fees associated with patent disputes.
There are three steps involved in getting a unitary patent. A European patent application must first be submitted to the European Patent Office (EPO). On the off chance that the application is considered to fulfill all prerequisites, the EPO will concede a European patent. Within one month of the grant of a European patent, the owner of the patent is required to request the patent’s unitary effect. The European Patent Office will register the unitary patent and issue a notice in the European Patent Bulletin as soon as the request for unitary effect has been submitted.
The complexity of the invention, the language in which the application is submitted, and the size of the applicant’s business all influence the costs associated with submitting a European patent application. This typically costs between 110 and 1260 euros, or about $121 and $1,385. A European patent examination and grant typically cost between 580 and 4000 euros or approximately $638 and $4,397 USD. To maintain the patent’s validity, unitary patents will require annual renewal fees to be paid. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) will need to receive payment for the renewal fees. According to the EPO, if an applicant files for a European Unitary Patent rather than a patent in each of the four European countries individually, they will, on average, save nearly $7,000 over the course of the patent’s 20 years of existence.
Generally, the European Unitary Patent is a fundamental stage towards a more coordinated EU economy and a more brought-together patent insurance framework. As examined over, this new framework is supposed to decrease the expenses and intricacy related to getting patent security across the EU, support the development and improvement of new innovations, cultivate financial development inside the district, and give a solitary ward to patent-related suits. As the EU keeps on pursuing a more fit patent framework, the execution of the European Unitary Patent is probably going to essentially affect the seriousness of European businesses on the worldwide stage.
Source – Jdsupra
