IP FINANCIAL FRIDAY
24 FEBRUARY, 2023
GERMANY GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO UNIFIED PATENT COURT
On the 17th, Germany deposited its instrument of ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA), removing the final obstacle to the start of the Unified Patent Court (UPC).
A 3-month ‘Sunrise’ period starts on March 1 for owners of existing granted European patents and applications to opt-out from the jurisdiction of the UPC, which enters into force on June 1.
There are a million blog posts on the subject, so there’s no need for us to rehash all the details, but there are some financial-related elements to the Unitary Patent that are worth highlighting.
IS A UNITARY PATENT LESS EXPENSIVE?
The Unitary Patent is designed to be a cost-effective alternative to a traditional EP Patent. But, as with everything else in IP, the devil is in the details (and cost is not the only factor you should be considering in your strategy!).
When pursuing an EP patent, right-holders need to “validate” their patent in the desired jurisdictions, which requires payment of fees, potential translation costs, and maintenance fees to each jurisdiction. Validating in a lot of countries is costly.
Unitary Patents streamline this process with a single fee, simplified translation requirements and a single, centralized maintenance fee that covers all of the UPC countries (17 so far).
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
Under many scenarios, the Unitary Patent is cheaper, but if you are only validating a couple countries, the traditional route will likely be cheaper. Also, with the traditional route, you can abandon patents to reduce maintenance costs. This isn’t an option with the Unitary Patent and its single maintenance fee.
Disclaimer
THIS POST IS STRICTLY INFORMATIONAL AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE, AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS LEGAL ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT A QUALIFIED ATTORNEY FOR SPECIFIC ADVICE REGARDING ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MATTERS.
