The Unitary Patent is a patent protection procedure subsequent to the European patent procedure.
The Unitary Patent, like the European Patent, is administered by the European Patent Office (EPO – www.epo.org) and involves obtaining a single patent that will develop its effects, at least initially, in 18 participating European Union countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden and Romania.
Other EU member states (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Slovakia) are expected to ratify it in the near future, while Spain, Poland and Croatia for now do not plan to join this unitary system.
The Unitary Patent procedure will not replace the patent protection procedure in the individual countries of the European Union, but will run alongside it.
