Unitary Patent Guidelines
April 2026 edition
The Unitary Patent Guidelines (UP Guidelines) provide guidance on the practice and procedure for unitary patent protection, in accordance with the applicable EU Regulations, the Rules relating to Unitary Patent Protection and the Rules relating to Fees for Unitary Patent Protection. The April 2026 edition of the UP Guidelines entered into force on 1 April 2026, superseding the April 2025 edition. The corresponding notice published in the Official Journal (OJ EPO 2026, A6) lists the main updates.
Available formats
The UP Guidelines are published only and are accessible free of charge in the three official languages of the EPO (English, French and German).
HTML version
PDF files
Available as a clean copy and a version showing all modifications.
Download UP Guidelines (hyperlinked) Download UP Guidelines (hyperlinked, showing modifications)
Content
The UP Guidelines are structured into eight parts covering every aspect of the unitary patent proceedings, including reestablishment of rights, interruption and resumption of proceedings, and feature an alphabetical keyword index. Disclaimer: For technical reasons, modifications affecting the headings and numbering of sections, and the alphabetical keyword index are not shown. This does not apply to modifications to the substantive content, which are reflected in the text of the Guidelines. All parts and indexes can be accessed via the Unitary Patent Guidelines web page.
Feedback on this edition
Each spring, the EPO invites users to provide feedback on the most recent version of the UP Guidelines in a user consultation. Further suggestions for additions or improvements are welcome at any time of the year and may be sent to [email protected].
Revision cycle
The UP Guidelines are revised annually to keep them aligned with the latest legal and procedural developments and to improve their content on the basis of feedback received in the course of the annual public user consultation. All comments are discussed with the SACEPO Working Party on Guidelines, which meets twice a year to come to an agreement on the suggested updates and clarifications. Reports of the meetings are published under Updates on the Guidelines revision cycle web page.