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

R.262A applications required to maintain confidentiality in UPC Proceedings
03 March 2026
The Court of Appeal clarified the necessity of formal applications to maintain confidentiality in Unified Patent Court (UPC) proceedings when disclosing ordered information. This ruling arose from a dispute involving patent infringement and confidentiality claims between EOFlow and Insulet.
​
Long arm not available for amended patent
02 March 2026
IMC Créations is a French company specialising in anti-theft systems for vehicles, particularly commercial vehicles. Among other things, it sells locks for the side and rear doors of commercial vehicles. Mul-T-Lock belongs to the Assa Abloy group and specialises in high security locking and access control systems, in particular pick-resistant keys and locks. IMC alleged that Mul-T-Lock’s MPV 1000 padlock infringes its unitary patent EP4153830 and the corresponding Swiss national validation.
​
Re-establishment of rights following failure to apply for a cost decision in time
02 March 2026
The dispute arises out of earlier proceedings between Heraeus Electronics GmbH & Co. KG (claimant) and Vibrantz GmbH (defendant), relating to European Patent No. 3215288. The Munich Local Division issued a substantive decision on 10 October 2025 addressing infringement and a counterclaim for revocation. Among other findings, the court partially revoked the patent in three Contracting Member States and dismissed the infringement action. In its cost decision, the court apportioned 40% of the costs to the defendant and 60% to the claimant.
​