An introduction to legal changes under discussion in Europe and their implications for the EPO.
The unitary patent is a major reform package currently being discussed within the European Union.
A proposal to revise the EPC to give greater organisational autonomy to the EPO's boards of appeal. The boards would become a new EPO organ called the "European Court of Patent Appeals" and fulfilling the judicial functions provided for in the EPC.
The EPLA is a voluntary agreement still to be ratified by EPO member states. It aims to establish a European Patent Court operating within an integrated judicial system including uniform rules of procedure and a common appeal court.
