The new age approaching – The Unitary Patent

Since 2012, the creation of the European patent with unitary effect has been regulated and 2022 is the year in which the project is expected to fully see the light of day.

To this end, the Convention on the Unified Patent Court should enter into force, which requires ratification by the three Member States that had the most patents in force in 2012, Germany’s deposit of its instrument of ratification being awaited, which has already been approved internally by the end of 2020.

On January 19, 2022, the Protocol of Provisional Application to the Unified Patent Court entered into force, with an expected duration of eight months, being that it is expected that Germany will ratify the Convention when the Unified Patent Court is in effective working condition.

As the unitary patent regime will enter into force three months after Germany’s ratification of the Convention, the new era is expected to begin later this year or early in 2023.