Select Committee welcomes progress with Unitary Patent
Unitary Patent enjoys a strong uptake of over a quarter of all European patents and an expanded geographical coverage with Romania’s recent accession.
Meeting on 9 and 10 October 2024, the Select Committee took stock of how popular the new system is with users already, as reflected by 40 000 requests for unitary effect. Today every fourth patent granted by the EPO becomes a Unitary Patent – a rate that was not expected to be achieved so early. More than half of the top 25 requesters for unitary effect come from Europe, and over a third of the requests originating in Europe are filed by SMEs, universities and public research organisations. Underscoring the importance of the Unitary Patent system for innovation in Europe, the report on the Future of European competitiveness presented last month to the European Commission by Mario Draghi (former President of the European Central Bank) encourages all EU member states to join the Unitary Patent system.
The Select Committee also welcomed Romania as the 18th participating member state since 1 September 2024, with over 1 700 users having requested a delay in registration for unitary effect between June and August 2024 so as to benefit from the extended territorial scope. The smooth accession reflects successful preparations by Romania and the EPO, underscoring how well the system is prepared for further accessions. The transparency afforded by the Unitary Patent dashboard with decisive key data, now including the uptake rate by country, was praised.
Noting updates on Unitary Patent operations at the EPO, the latest developments at the UPC, and cooperation between the two organisations, the Select Committee gave a unanimous favourable opinion on the draft Unitary Patent budget for 2025, with a forecast annual uptake rate reaching 27% in 2025 and 29% in 2026.
Finally, the Select Committee supported the rapid entry into force of a proposed amendment of the Unitary Patent Rules to implement the 14th package of EU sanctions against Russia.
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