Unitary Patents (UPs) offer a single annual renewal fee and minimal translation requirements. However, UPs also are vulnerable to central revocation through the UPC throughout their lifetime, in addition to the 9 month central opposition window that applies to all European patents.
Selecting a Unitary Patent also comes with a degree of uncertainty. Unitary Patents fall within the exclusive competence of the Unified Patent Court, interpreting legislation and developing new case law. There is no way to opt-out a Unitary Patent from the Unified Patent Court.
The risk versus reward for a Unitary Patent also depends on the countries in which you wish to have patent protection. The cost savings provided by a Unitary Patent compared to a traditional bundle of national validations is significant if you would have validated your European patent in all of the member states participating in the Unitary Patent Court.
However, if you normally validate your European patent in a handful of countries (e.g. France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium), selecting a UP may be more expensive than validating your European patent via the traditional route in those countries.
It is also possible to adopt a mixed strategy, by selecting a Unitary Patent for some of the patents in your IP portfolio and following the traditional route of national validations for others. Our IP experts can help you make these decisions.
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