post Tuesday November 20, 2012
European member countries voted for the introduction of a “Unitary Patent System” in the first half of 2011. It is to be established by the European Council and it is to be put into function at the beginning of 2014.
As a result of the Unitary Patent system, the protection of a patent will be automatically valid in all EU countries. In contrast to the current situation where it has to be validated and accepted one by one in the EU countries in which the applicant would like to gain protection. This way, the process of validation will be faster because translations will no longer be required, and the patent will be validated in the language in which it was granted. These changes represent a great advantage to patent owners because it would significantly reduce the costs of broad patent coverage in EPO member states.
The new system will have a supplementary role alongside the existing system. Thus, this combined system will offer patent owners four options to select from:
Additionally, a single patent litigation system will be generated. Exclusive aptitude will be given to a Unified Patent Court in order to deal with validation and infringement cases. This way the occurrence of multiple court cases with regard to the same patent in different member countries will be avoided. This would also prevent contradictory court rulings on the same issues.
Source: pof.com.au
Photo source: Free Digital Photos
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