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Where previously a European patent may have only been validated in, say, five EU countries, the Unitary Patent will cover at least 17 of the 27 member states for a lower cost to that of the five previously. These “bonus” countries could provide unexpected benefits to companies. Infringements can arise anytime and anywhere, so the […]

The Unified Patent Court (UPC) would resolve cases much more quickly than is possible under the current system. If a case is brought, it would be processed, and a judgment passed down within a year. This means that businesses can bring their cases to court more quickly if needed. The Court also intends to hear […]

SMEs can greatly benefit from the Unitary Patent (UP) and the UPC. Not only does the UP provide substantial savings on renewal fees across the entire (at least) 17 UP territories, but the UPC also offers several other benefits to SMEs. Firstly, the UPC offers a centralised approach for European IP disputes (substantially cheaper than […]

It is expected that the Unified Patent Court (UPC) would provide robust decisions as a result of the standardised practices between divisions and the diverse and well-trained pool of judges. This ensures that issues can be expertly tried, and decisions relied upon in territories previously unaccustomed to handling large volumes of patent litigation. This consistency […]

Firstly, the use of a single court system avoids the scenario of different courts in different countries reaching conflicting opinions on the issue of infringement. Even more appealingly, as the Unitary Patent (UP) covers a large number of European territories, it would be possible to use the court to seek relief for infringing activities happening […]

The Unitary Patent system would be cost effective for everyone. It becomes cheaper per country when compared to the traditional bundle of European patents as you seek to protect your invention in an increasing number of countries. Specifically, the annual cost of renewing a Unitary Patent would be equivalent to the cost of renewing individual […]