INTERNATIONAL TREATIES
European Union
EU regulations on unitary patent protection
Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2012 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection, and Council Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012 of 17 December 2012 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection with regard to the applicable translation arrangements, as published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ L 361, 31.12.2012, p. 1 and p. 89), are reproduced below. References in the footnotes to the Official Journal are to that of the European Union.
The two regulations entered into force on 20 January 2013. They will apply from 1 January 2014 or the date of entry into force of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, whichever is later. The Agreement on a Unified Patent Court will enter into force after the deposit of the 13th instrument of ratification or accession (provided they include those of the three states with the highest numbers of European patents in force, i.e. France, Germany and the United Kingdom).
For further information on the regulations, the EPO's role and the Unified Patent Court please see the EPO's website at www.epo.org.
See also the European Commission's website at http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/indprop/patent/index_en.htm.
Detailed information about the implementation of the two regulations will be published in due course.