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The Unitary Patent One single patent covering 25 EU members

The Unitary Patent One single patent covering 25 EU members. Rodolphe Bauer, Frédéric Dedek, Gareth Jenkins, Cristina Margarido Patent Examiners, EPO. October 2013. The European patent of today.

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The Unitary Patent One single patent covering 25 EU members

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  1. The Unitary PatentOne single patent covering 25 EU members Rodolphe Bauer, Frédéric Dedek, Gareth Jenkins, Cristina Margarido Patent Examiners, EPO October 2013

  2. The European patent of today • The European patent office examines and grants a European patents in a single application procedure in English, French or German. • After grant, the European patent is then converted into national patents of the 38 members states of the European patent conventions. • Requires translations • Litigation in many countries validation European patent National patents

  3. Unified Patent Court – Main features (IV) The European Patent System • Since 1977, successful centralised European patent granting procedure at the European Patent Office • Shortcomings in the post-grant phase • From the Community patent to the unitary patent The European Union's patent package • 1. Unitary patent (protection) • 2. Unified Patent Court

  4. The European Union and the Unitary patent a historical perspective The European Union and the Unitary patent a historical perspective Maastricht Treaty EU 1993 Treaty of Rome EEC 1957 Nobel Peace Price 2012 Brussels treaty European community 1967 Common Euro currency 1999 London agreement on translations 2008 First European Patent Application 1978 European Patent Convention 1973 First Unitary Patent 2015? Commission proposal Council regulation 2000 Luxembourg Convention on the Community patent 1975 Agreement Community patents 1989 EU patent package agreement 2013

  5. The European patent of today >600 million people38 member states>20 official languages

  6. The Unitary patent - basic concepts • A supranational patent • A post-grant option for EPO patents with many benefits • The Unitary patent does not need national validation in participating EU countries • Automatic translations will be used for information. Unitary effect European patent

  7. How can you apply for a Unitary patent? • Same application procedure as for current EPO patents • After grant, a request is made for unitary effect • National validation only needed in non-participating countries • No double protection by a unitary a classical patent validation into National patents unitary effect European patent

  8. Why will the Unitary patent be cheaper? • Translation costs account for around 50% of the current costs. The use of automatic translations will provide an enormous saving of costs • Centralized litigation will be provided by a unified patent court. Legal certainty can be achieved without multiple and costly national court proceedings • The renewal fees will be centrally administered by the EPO

  9. World Nominal GDP (Billions of US $) Bold black = Unitary Patent, covering around 23% GDP Bold red = EPC, but not in Unitary Patent

  10. How to fight over patents after grant Procedures before the EPO relate to patentability and can overlap in time and subject with those of the Unified patent court EPO application Notice of Opposition <9 month after grant publication EPO grant+publication Unitary effect, <1 month after grant publication Opposition procedure Appeal procedure Examination Unified patent court: First instance Court of Appeal Decides on infringements and revocations Court of justice of the EU Court proceedings can be initiated any time during a patent's life time

  11. THE UNIFIED PATENT COURT 1. Court of First Instance • Central Division • Local Divisions • Regional Divisions 2. Court of Appeal 3. Registry 4. Patent Mediation and Arbitration Center 5. Training Center for Judges 11

  12. THE UNIFIED PATENT COURT 1. Court of First Instance • Central Division • Local Divisions • Regional Divisions 2. Court of Appeal 3. Registry 4. Patent Mediation and Arbitration Center 5. Training Center for Judges 12

  13. THE UNIFIED PATENT COURT chemistry, pharma-ceuticals, biotechnology, metallurgy, human necessities, including medical devices electronics, software, textiles, physics, etc. mechanicalengineering, lighting, heating, weapons, blasting 13

  14. THE UNIFIED PATENT COURT 1. Court of First Instance • Central Division • Local Divisions • Regional Divisions 2. Court of Appeal 3. Registry 4. Patent Mediation and Arbitration Center 5. Training Center for Judges - +1 per 100 add. cases - max. 4 - case counting? 14

  15. THE UNIFIED PATENT COURT 1. Court of First Instance • Central Division • Local Divisions • Regional Divisions (2 or more MS) 2. Court of Appeal 3. Registry 4. Patent Mediation and Arbitration Center 5. Training Center for Judges 15 15

  16. THE UNIFIED PATENT COURT 1. Court of First Instance • Central Division • Local Divisions • Regional Divisions 2. Court of Appeal 3. Registry 4. Patent Mediation and Arbitration Center 5. Training Center for Judges 16 16

  17. THE UNIFIED PATENT COURT 1. Court of First Instance • Central Division • Local Divisions • Regional Divisions 2. Court of Appeal 3. Registry 4. Patent Mediation and Arbitration Center 5. Training Center for Judges 17

  18. THE UNIFIED PATENT COURT 1. Court of First Instance • Central Division • Local Divisions • Regional Divisions 2. Court of Appeal 3. Registry 4. Patent Mediation and Arbitration Center 5. Training Center for Judges 18

  19. Unified Patent Court First Instance language of the EPO patent national language national language

  20. THE UNIFIED PATENT COURT • Common court to the Contracting Member States • competent for • Unitary patents (European patents with unitary effect) • European patents (not yet lapsed at the date of entry into force or granted after that date, including pending applications) • Supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) 20

  21. ORGANIZATION OF THE UPC • Language of Proceedings (Art. 49) • Local and Regional Divisionslanguage of the host country • Central Divisionlanguage of patent (50-75 % English, 20-40 % German 5-10 % French) • Court of Appeallanguage of first instance proceedings; upon request of the parties, language of patent 21

  22. Present system High costs for patent proprietors post-grant translation costs national renewal fees Sub-optimal enforcement scheme multiple litigation diverging national decisions high costs legal uncertainty Summary • Unitary system • European patents with unitary effect • lower translation costs • centralized handling of renewal fees • Unified Patent Court • centralized litigation • legal certainty without influence of national laws For more info: http://www.epo.org/law-practice/unitary.html

  23. Need more information? www.epo.org info@epo.org Tel. +49(0)89 2399-4636

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