Romania joined the Unitary Patent system

Romania has officially joined the Unitary Patent system as of 1 September 2024. This means that all European patents with unitary effect will now automatically include coverage for Romania. With a population of around 19 million people, Romania’s inclusion expands the market covered by the UP system to a total of 330 million people.

European patents with unitary effect that are registered by the EPO on or after 1 September 2024 will be applicable in the 18 EU Member States that are part of enhanced cooperation and have ratified the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC Agreement) by that date. These states include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Sweden.

Since the Unitary Patent system came into effect on 1 June 2023, the EPO has already received over 34,000 requests for unitary effect and registered 33,000 Unitary Patents. Notably, 32% of all requests for unitary effect in the first half of this year were submitted by small businesses and individual inventors, reflecting a growing interest in this streamlined and cost-effective patent protection option.

The Unitary Patent system, which comprises the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court (UPC), offers advantages such as reduced costs, a simplified process, consistent protection, and increased legal certainty across participating EU Member States. This makes it an appealing choice, particularly for SMEs. The UPC’s jurisdiction covers both Unitary Patents and classic European patents, allowing for a centralized procedure that eliminates the need for expensive parallel court proceedings in multiple national courts.

It is anticipated that more EU Member States will ratify the UPC Agreement in the future, ultimately enabling patent protection in up to 25 EU Member States through a single request to the EPO.