The Select Committee adopted on 15/12/15 a series of agreements necessary for the implementation of the Unitary Patent package:
- The Rules relating to Unitary Patent Protection,
- The Rules relating to Fees for Unitary Patent Protection,
- The Rules relating to the distribution of fees amongst the participating Member States,
- The Budgetary and Financial Rules.
The Committee has therefore now put into place a comprehensive and complete secondary legal framework for the unitary patent, which will allow for the implementation of the Unitary Patent package.
As the EPO President Benoît Battistelli declared, the legal far: “This is a hugely significant occasion for the European patent system. With the adoption of these rules today, the preparations for the unitary patent are complete. We are now legally, technically and operationally ready to deliver the unitary patent. The only remaining step is the opening of the Unified Patent Court and the finalisation of the ratification process at national level. We hope this will happen in 2016 and we are convinced that it will boost innovation in Europe and will be beneficial for the European economy, especially for European SMEs.”
As a reminder: The Unitary Patent system and the Unified patent Court will only come to life once thirteen states, including France Germany and the UK, have ratified the Unified Patent Court Agreement. So far eight states, including France, have ratified. See our posts on ratification here.