To begin with, the unitary patent will have effect within a total of twenty-four EU member states. Almost all EU member states, except Spain, Croatia, and Poland, participate in the unitary patent protection system.
The ‘Unified Patent Court’ (abbreviated as UPC), which will have exclusive jurisdiction over unitary patents and traditional (current and future) European patents, is an essential part of the ‘Unitary Patent System’. Further, before the EPO can issue the first unitary patent, the UPC needs to come into existence.
The UPC has been established by an international treaty: the ‘UPC Agreement’ (UPCA), dated 19 February 2013. Additionally, the UPCA will enter into force on the first day of the fourth month after the thirteenth European Union member state has ratified and deposited the ‘UPC Agreement’, including those of the three member states in which the highest number of European patents had effect in 2012, namely Germany, France, and Italy.
France (compulsory)
Italy (compulsory)
Austria
Estonia
Malta
Sweden
Belgium
Finland
Latvia
Netherlands
Bulgaria
Lithuania
Portugal
Denmark
Luxembourg
Slovenia
Germany (compulsory)
Cyprus
Greece
Ireland
Slovakia
Czech Republic
Hungary
Romania
UK
Switzerland
Norway
Albania
North Macedonia
Iceland
Liechtenstein
Monaco
San Marino
Serbia
Turkey