One year after the entry into force of the unitary patent system, the European Patent Office has already registered 27,000 corresponding patents. The Unitary Patent will take its place alongside national and European patents and will be valid in all participating member states. It therefore offers companies the opportunity to protect their innovations even more efficiently and thus strengthen their competitiveness.
Part of the new patent system is also the Unified Patent Court, which is responsible for Unitary Patents, existing European patents and, in special cases, also for non-unitary new European patents. Currently, 17 EU member states are part of the Unified Patent Court: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden.
Companies can find more detailed information on European patent law on the website of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, among others DPMA. The DPMA has also published its Annual Report 2023 with statistics and information on support options for companies.
Industrial property protection is extremely important for the European innovation landscape. Last June, AUMA, together with the EUIPO organised an information event for numerous representatives of German trade fair organisers on the protection of trade marks and products when exhibiting at trade fairs.
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