A European patent with unitary effect is a patent to be granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) and for which unitary effect has been registered, as it will be valid in 17 countries of the European Union, namely Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden. Poland is not among these countries, so the provisions of the Act on the Filing of European Patent Applications and the Effects of European Patents in the Republic of Poland will continue to apply, and thus European patents will require validation.
Disputes concerning European patents with unitary effect will be settled by the Unified Patent Court (UPC).
The European patent with unitary effect system is not yet in force. However, as of 1 March 2023, the so-called sunrise period has started, during which it is possible to file an early Request to exclude a European patent from the jurisdiction of the UPCA, as well as an early Request for unitary effect of a European patent. During the sunrise period it is also possible to file a Request for delayed publication of the decision to grant a patent. The sunrise period will last until the full entry of the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) into force on 1 June 2023.
The filing of a Request to exclude a European patent from the jurisdiction of the UPCA (so-called Opt-out request) results in the given patent retaining the character of a European patent without unitary effect. Furthermore, when the unitary patent provisions enter into force, i.e. from 1 June 2023, there will be a transitional period (7 years with the possibility of extension) during which it will be possible to file Requests to exclude European patents from the jurisdiction of the UPCA. Thereafter, all European patents will fall under this jurisdiction. Requests to exclude European patents from the jurisdiction of the UPCA will apply to both new patents and those already granted.
A translation of the patent description and claims into any language of the European Union should be filed with the EPO along with the Request for unitary effect of a European patent (as well as with an early Request for unitary effect of a European patent). Although Poland will not be part of the European patent with unitary effect system, the patents may also be translated into Polish when the language of proceedings before the EPO is English. When the language of proceedings before the EPO is German or French, a translation of the description and claims into English must be made. It should be emphasised that the specifications cannot be machine-translated.
In view of the planned entry into force of the patent with unitary effect on 1 June 2023, our firm offers:
- filing patent applications with the European Patent Office and representing clients during the prosecution to obtain a European patent with unitary effect
- filing of the Requests for unitary effect of a European patent
- payment of the fees for the successive years of protection of European patents with unitary effect and monitoring the annuities effected before the European Patent Office
- recordals in the Register of the European Patent Office, including the opt-out requests for granted European patents
- providing technical analysis and opinions in contentious cases related to European patents with unitary effect
- translations of granted European patents into Polish for a Request for unitary effect of a European patent