Unitary Patent Day 2023

No items found.
​
June 7, 2023
#
UPC
Table of contents
  • Toc Heading
  • Toc Heading

Today is Unitary Patent day!

In principle, a Unitary Patent could be obtained for a European Patent granted from 1 June 2023. But in practice, the European Patent Office only publishes grant of patents on a Wednesday, and so today is the first day in which patents are actually granted that can be the subject of a request for unitary effect to become a Unitary Patent in the participating 17 EU countries. It has been possible to file such requests in advance (since the beginning of January 2023) but they cannot take effect before today.

EIP has filed some requests for unitary effect already, and we expect to file more over the next few weeks. The Register shows that 650 requests for unitary effect have been filed already; none granted yet.

Don't forget that if the patent is granted in English, a translation into any official EU language must be filed as well. The language does not have to be of a country participating in the Unitary Patent system, so Spanish is a popular choice, especially if the European Patent will be validated in Spain as well.

Recent Case Reports

See all Case Reports

UPC revokes provisional injunction on motorbike helmet intercoms system
29 June 2026
The UPC Local Division Milan revoked Cardo's provisional injunction against Reso, ruling its helmet intercom products fall outside the scope of EP4240194, neither literally nor by equivalence.
​
Preliminary objection on jurisdiction partially successful – UPC clarifies requirements of anchor-defendant jurisdiction for non-UPC territories
25 June 2026
The Hamburg Local Division let Nixu pursue US-based Infoblox in the UPC for Germany, France and Finland, but threw out the UK claim. To reach a non-UPC territory through an anchor defendant, a claimant must plead joint infringement there.
​
UPC applies party-driven equivalence test in absence of Court of Appeal guidance
25 June 2026
The Helsinki Local Division found AIM's TV-advertising patent valid but not infringed by TGI, and with no Court of Appeal ruling on equivalence yet, adopted the four-step test both sides put forward, the UPC following the parties' lead.
​