Choices to be made for new and pending patent applications
Once the new system is in place, when your European patent is granted, you will be faced with a choice:
- Select a Unitary Patent covering all participating EU member states
- Select a “classic” bundle of national patents and then decide whether to “opt-out” of the competence of the Unified Patent Court
A combination of the two options is also possible, because the Unitary Patent does not cover all EPC countries. Therefore, in addition to a European patent with unitary effect. The European patent can be validated in the traditional way in those countries which are not participating in the unitary patent system.
Your strategy
The decision on whether to participate in the new system, and the extent to which you do so, depends on several considerations:
- the cost of a Unitary Patent;
- the number of countries you wish to cover;
- the strength of your patent(s); and
- whether you would like to opt-out of the UPC.
There is no straightforward “one size fits all” strategy: the best option will vary from case to case. It goes without saying that the advisors at NLO are closely monitoring the developments regarding the new system. Therefore, we recommend you discuss the strategic options with your contact person at NLO.
