After 14 years of preparation and work, the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court are finally a reality in the 17 EU member states that, as of 1.6.2023, have ratified the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) (signed by 24 Member States).
A new push in terms of support for innovation, enterprise, competitiveness and efficiency, European patents will now be not only valid cross-border, but be enforceable cross-border through the Unified Patent Court. At a competitive price.
The EU patent system is now at a par with the US and the Chinese patent system.
Registry of new patent court: Luxembourg
Court of Appeal: Luxembourg
Unitary Patent Court: Central Division, Paris
EU Patent Office: Munich, with branch in The Hague and offices in Berlin, Vienna and Brussels
Responsible for the administration of all Unitary Patents
Here the Guide by the EPO (European Patent Office)
https://new.epo.org/en/legal/guide-up/2022/index.html
For all locations, see
https://www.unified-patent-court.org/en/court/locations#:~:text=Riga%20(LV)%2FR,-Instance%20Court%20of
Website of the Unified Patent Court
https://www.unified-patent-court.org/en/organisation/upc-member-states
In which language can you bring proceedings?
Proceedings can be brought in an official European Union language which is the official language or one of the official languages of the state hosting the relevant division, or such languages designated by the states sharing a regional division
| Division | Language(s)* | |
| Local Division | Vienna (AT) | German, English |
| Brussels (BE) | Dutch, French, German, English (†) | |
| Copenhagen (DK) | Danish, English | |
| Helsinki (FI) | Finnish, Swedish, English | |
| Paris (FR) | French, English (†) | |
| Düsseldorf (DE) | German, English (†) | |
| Hamburg (DE) | German, English (†) | |
| Mannheim (DE) | German, English (†) | |
| Munich (DE) | German, English (†) | |
| Milan (IT) | Italian | |
| The Hague (NL) | Dutch, English | |
| Lisbon (PT) | Portuguese, English | |
| Ljubljana (SI) | Slovenian, English | |
| Regional Division | Nordic-Baltic (SE, EE, LT, LV) | English |
Should you require the assistance of a lawyer-linguist for your documents, please do not hesitate to
For more information, please see the relevant website bit.ly/45D43s1
Position of the UK after Brexit
The UK is a signatory of the European Patent Convention (EPC). Since the EPC is not an EU instrument, it continues to be valid and Brexit does not affect the rights of patent attorneys based in the UK to represent applicants at the EPO. Applicants will continue to benefit from the European Patent Designation granted by the EPO.
But after Brexit, the UK has withdrawn from the UPC and Unitary Patents will not cover the UK.