Unitary Patent System
On 1 September 2024, the Unitary Patent system became operational, with Romania becoming the 18th European state to have deposited the instrument of ratification of the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court, thereby joining the list of states that have the effects of the Unitary Patent covered on their territory.
The Unitary Patent is a European patent granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) according to the rules and procedures laid down in the European Patent Convention. One of the advantages of the new system is the possibility for the holder of a patent to apply for unitary effect of protection, covering the territory of all EU Member States to have deposited instruments of ratification.
Key aspects of the Unitary Patent:
- it provides uniform coverage across all the states that have signed the elements of ratification, namely Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden
- it provides a streamlined route to uniform, territory-wide patent protection, thereby cutting red tape and costs significantly
- the procedure for obtaining a unitary patent begins with obtaining a European patent, followed by filing an application for a patent with unitary effect
- holders do not need to validate a patent in each individual state, but can apply for a unitary patent through a single application to the EPO, a regional office acting as a one-stop shop that is also responsible for the centralised administration of the unitary patent system and the related fee payments
- The Unitary Patent system will co-exist with both the national patent system and the traditional European patent, with holders free to choose the system best suited to their economic and strategic needs
Source: Announcement dated 29.08.2024 published on the website of the State Office for Inventions and Trademarks, and Law no. 81/2024 on the ratification of the Agreement on the Single Patent Court, opened for signature and signed by Romania in Brussels on 19 February 2013.
