The countries covered by the Unitary Patent, are the same as those participating in the Unified Patent Court and are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden (18 UPC states).

For European patents having Unitary Effect (also called Unitary Patents) the Unified Patent Court has sole jurisdiction for determining infringement and validity. The Unified Patent Court provides a layer of consolidation and harmonisation for the previously fragmented system for determining matters of infringement and validity for European patents.

There are more states which are in “enhanced cooperation” and which may join the Unified Patent Court and the Unitary Patent System in the coming months and years.

The following unitary patent map shows which of the EPO member states are participating in enhanced cooperation to bring about the unitary patent.  18 states have so far ratified the Agreements with a further 7 signatories working towards this.

For existing European national phase patents (also known as the “classic” European patent), where after grant, the European patent is continued as a bundle of individual national patents, that system continues in parallel with the Unified Patent Court.

For more information on the Unified Patent Court, or to start or defend an infringement or revocation action in the Unified Patent Court, please contact one of our European Patent Attorneys.