II. The request for unitary effect
Translation of the European patent
57The request for unitary effect must also contain a translation of the European patent as required under Article 6(1) Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012:
– Where the language of the proceedings is French or German, a full translation of the specification of the European patent into English must be submitted.
– Where the language of the proceedings is English, a full translation of the specification of the European patent into any other official language of the European Union must be submitted.
58A full translation of the specification of the European patent is required. Under Rule 73(1) EPC, the specification of the European patent includes the description, the claims and any drawings. Therefore, the translation of the description, the claims and of any text in the drawings needs to be filed.
59Translations of the claims into the two official languages of the EPO other than the language of the proceedings will already have been filed with the EPO at the end of the grant procedure under the EPC. These can be reused, so, in practice, only a translation of the description and of any text in the drawings may at most be additionally needed for the purpose of filing the request for unitary effect. Similarly, where the language of the proceedings is English, patent proprietors who choose to file a translation of the European patent specification into an official EU language other than French or German will often be able to use an adapted version of an application first filed with a national patent office. Moreover, patent proprietors who choose to validate the European patent in a state not covered by the Unitary Patent that requires a translation of the specification may also use that translation.
60Compensation for translation costs is available for SMEs, natural persons, non-profit organisations, universities and public research organisations having their residence or principal place of business in an EU Member State. To be eligible, they must have filed their European patent application in an official EU language other than English, German or French. See point 75 onwards for more information on the eligibility requirements.
61The translation should be drawn up in a form enabling it to be disseminated, i.e. it should be typewritten or printed (see Article 6(2) Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012; Rule 50(2) EPC, which applies mutatis mutandis pursuant to Rule 20(2)(c) UPR). As to the presentation of the translation please see OJ EPO 2022, A113. The translations are included in the public part of the file relating to the European patent with unitary effect, where they can be inspected online by the public.
62The translated text has no legal effect and is for information only.