Upon entry into force of the UP System, two transitional provisions are foreseen for European patent applications that have reached the final stage of the corresponding granting procedure, namely:
- Applicants may file applications with unitary effects in advance before the Unitary Patent System enters into force. In this case, the unitary effects will be registered when the UP system starts, provided that all corresponding requirements for the registration are met;
- Applicants may request a delay in the issuance of the decision granting a European Patent by the EPO.
Since Unitary Patent protection can only be applied for European patents granted by the EPO, this measure will allow the delay of the date of granting of the European patent to make it eligible for protection via the Unitary Patent.
The main advantages of the new Unitary Patent System are:
a) National validation procedures will no longer be required, and a single renewal fee will be charged by the EPO;
All post-grant administration will be carried out by the EPO, reducing its costs and administrative workload.
b) After a six years transitional period (extendable), no translations are required. During this transitional period, a full translation of the European patent is required, but the translation is merely informative and has no legal effect.
In addition, a compensation scheme will cover the translation costs of the application in the pre-grant stage for SMEs, natural persons, non-profit organisations, universities, and public research organisations based in the EU, where the request for review of the European patent application or the Euro-PCT application leading to the PU is filed in an official EU language different from English, French or German.
c) Centralised legal decisions on issues of patent infringement and validity, as the Unified Patent Court will have exclusive jurisdiction in the contracting member states.
d) "Classic" European patents (those who choose to continue with national validation) will remain in force and unchanged with the creation of the UP system.
Applicants will be free to choose between the UP system, the national validation system or both, depending on the costs involved, the protection strategy and the countries of interest.
The Commercial and Corporate Law Department of Belzuz Abogados, S.L.P. – Sucursal em Portugal is composed by practitioners qualified to provide legal advice on the registration of European patents and trademarks.
Belzuz Abogados SLP
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