Romania will join the Unitary Patent system with effect from 1 September 2024. This follows the deposit of its instrument of ratification of the UPCA on 31 May 2024. All European patents taking up unitary effect from 1 September will automatically cover Romania. The number of EU Member States participating in the Unitary Patent system will therefore increase to 18, covering an additional market of some 19 million people.
In the first year since the Unitary Patent became a reality on 1 June 2023, the EPO received 28 450 requests for unitary effect and registered almost 27 700 Unitary Patents. Since the beginning of the year, this means that almost one in four European patents granted has been converted into a Unitary Patent.
The Unitary Patent system offers lower costs, a streamlined procedure, uniform protection and greater legal certainty. Inventors can apply for and maintain patent protection, pay renewal fees and register subsequent transactions (such as the granting of licences) at the EPO as a central one-stop shop. This means that inventors no longer have to deal with many different national procedures in parallel. All these benefits make the Unitary Patent an attractive option, especially to SMEs.