The uniform came into effect on June 1, 2023 European Patent system in force. The introduction of the European patent with unitary effect (Unitary Patent) and the Unified Patent Court (UPC) mark the most far-reaching reform of the European patent system since the conclusion of the European Patent Convention (EPC) in 1973. The third anniversary of this milestone offers an opportunity to take stock.
“European patents” have existed since the EPC came into force in 1977. Contrary to what the name suggests, however, these are not protective rights that apply uniformly throughout Europe, but rather so-called “bundle patents”. After a centralized examination and grant procedure before the European Patent Office (EPO), these break down into a large number of independent national patents.
The author
Alexander Koller is a lawyer in Vienna and a registered representative at the EPG. He is also co-editor of the standard commentary on the Austrian Patent Act (PatG), which recently appeared in its second edition, and regularly publishes on intellectual property rights.
A patent granted by the EPO must be validated individually in each country in which it is intended to provide protection and maintained through the payment of annual fees. Since the validation requirements are different in every country, this is complex and often expensive.
The character of a bundle of several national patents previously also made it necessary for patent infringements to be prosecuted separately before the relevant national court in each country in which an intervention took place. It was also necessary to assert the invalidity of a European patent in separate proceedings in each Member State. This fragmentation made maintaining patent protection, enforcing and defending them extremely time-consuming and costly. Furthermore, it could not be ruled out that contradictory decisions would be made in the individual states.
With the new system set up as part of increased cooperation between several EU states, previous practice has undergone a profound paradigm shift. First, a European patent with uniform effect was introduced for the first time in all – currently 18 – participating EU member states (Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Slovenia, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Malta, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal). For this “unitary patent”, the EPO acts as a universal registration authority and central contact point instead of the individual national patent offices.
For the unitary patent, there is no need for national validation procedures and the translation effort is also drastically reduced. It also breaks with the fragmented system for maintaining protection: from now on there is only a single procedure for extending the duration of protection and a uniform deadline for paying annual fees.
In addition to the Unitary Patent, the Unified Patent Court (EPG) was established. It has exclusive jurisdiction for infringement actions and actions for annulment of unitary patents as well as for existing (“classic”) European patents. However, “classic” European patents can be “opted out” of the exclusive jurisdiction of the UPC for a transitional period of seven years.
The EPG has two instances: The court of first instance is decentralized. It has a central chamber with branches in Paris, Munich and Milan, as well as local chambers and a regional chamber in various locations in the participating member states. The Court of Appeal has its seat in Luxembourg. The panels are made up of experienced, legally and technically qualified judges from all over Europe. The UPC rulings apply uniformly to all participating member states and can be directly enforced in them.
Such a standardization of patent protection had been sought since the 1970s. Two agreements that had already been adopted (1975, 1989) failed due to a lack of ratification. After further efforts in the early 2000s were unsuccessful due to a lack of consensus, the possibility of increased cooperation extended by the Lisbon Treaty finally paved the way. In 2012, the relevant EU regulations on the unitary patent were passed. On February 19, 2013, the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court was signed. Because of Brexit and constitutional complaints in Germany, it took ten years until the system became reality.
Three years after the launch, it is clear that the long wait was worth it. Business and legal practice draw a consistently positive conclusion. The initial reluctance of individual stakeholders – which was due in particular to uncertainties regarding the quality of case law and procedural law practice, such as interim legal protection – has given way to widespread acceptance. This applies across all company sizes and technology sectors. Innovative companies in particular are making great use of the new system, especially since the prosecution and enforcement of patents is significantly cheaper than the traditional bundle system.
It is also important that the EPG’s objective of conducting the procedures quickly and efficiently is implemented in practice. As a rule, in both infringement and nullity proceedings, a first-instance decision – which can be enforced immediately – can be expected within one year.
The increasing attractiveness is clearly reflected in current key figures. Almost 30 percent of all newly granted European patents are now applied for as a unitary patent. The growing trust is also reflected in the number of cases at the court: as of March 31, 2026, a total of 1,183 cases have been pending since the court began operations.
It is noteworthy that the majority of cases brought before the EPC are concentrated in the German court chambers. This is causing growing criticism. There are fears that the dominance of German locations could undermine the character of the system as a European project. The EPG therefore initiated an evaluation process to counteract this development.
Overall, after three years, the uniform European patent system can be seen as a success story. The upheaval associated with the new system has also brought noticeable dynamism to the national markets. This is particularly evident for the Austrian legal profession and patent practice: Due to the internationalization of procedures, domestic patent lawyers are exposed to increased, pan-European competition. Nevertheless, Austrian actors have also played an active role in this development from the beginning.
However, the development is by no means complete yet. An important milestone will be set on June 1, 2026: the Mediation and Arbitration Center for Patent Matters will take part on the third anniversary of its entry into force (PMAC) officially ceases operations. With this new institution for alternative dispute resolution, the system will be enriched by an important facet. It can be firmly assumed that the development of the uniform patent system will remain highly dynamic in the coming years and will present exciting challenges for practice.
