UPC & Unitary Patents
Unitary Patents – European patents with unitary effect
On June 1, 2023, the European patent system gained another layer.
Since then, the European Patent Office (EPO) offers the option of obtaining European patents with unitary effect (“Unitary Patents”). The option of obtaining a Unitary Patent can be advantageous in many cases – for example, lead to significant cost savings when pursuing intellectual property protection for your invention throughout Europe. Of course, we would be happy to advise you in this regard.
Unified Patent Court (UPC)
In addition, the European Unified Patent Court (UPC) began operating on June 1, 2023. Before the UPC, it is now possible to conduct centralised patent infringement and revocation proceedings such that the respective decisions are binding in all Contracting Member States of the Unitary Patent System. This system already covers a large part of the European Union and is still growing. Our analysis of the initial proceedings before the UPC indicates that the new court renders decisions of high quality expeditiously.
ULLRICH & NAUMANN has decades of experience in conducting national patent infringement and revocation proceedings. In such cases, the cooperation between our Patent Attorneys and Attorneys at Law is particularly effective. We have led our clients to success in many cases and, of course, we have also been representing clients in all proceedings before the UPC from day one. Accordingly, we are pleased to be in a position where we can play a part in actively shaping the current evolution of European patent law.