SONN Patentanwälte – IP Attorneys

1. UPC: Identical Claims for All Participating Member States Required for Unitary Effect

   In this key ruling, the Court of Appeal addresses the strict territorial requirements for registering the unitary effect of a European patent. Article 3(1) of the Unitary Patent Regulation cannot be interpreted as permitting the registration of unitary effect for a granted European patent that does...

2. UPC Central Division: Procedural Decision: Application to Set Aside a Decision of the EPO to Refuse a Request for Unitary Effect

   The patent was granted to the applicant, but not for Malta, as it was not a member of the EPC when the original application was filed. When the request for unitary effect was filed in 2025, Malta was a member of the Unitary Patent system. The EPO refused the request for unitary effect, and the Court...

3. Romania joins the Unitary Patent system

   On May 31, 2024, Romania deposited the instrument of ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) with the Council of the European Union. The ratification took effect on September 1, 2024. Unitary patents for which the unitary effect was registered on or after September 1, 2024...

4. Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court to launch on 1 June 2023

   After many delays, the launch date for the long-awaited European Unitary Patent system is finally set. According to a press release from the German...

5. Launch of Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court delayed

   The roadmap published by the Unified Patent Court (UPC) for the entry into force of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA)...

6. Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court expected to launch on 1 April 2023

   With the Unified Patent Court (UPC), a common patent court for currently 17 EU member states (including Austria, Germany, Italy and France) has been created. A roadmap published...