EU Unitary Patent to become a reality in June

As of June 1, it will be possible to obtain one unified European patent for inventions, that will be valid in all the 17 participating European Union countries. Iceland stands outside the new system and will continue to participate in cooperation on European patents organized by the European Patent Office (EPO) together with many other countries, inside and outside the European Union. That system will continue to be maintained, alongside the new system.

The main changes consist in the fact that the new patents will not have to be ratified in each country individually, only one annual fee will have to be paid, and there will not be a need to prosecute them in several countries simultaneously with possibly different results. Up to 25 European Union countries will participate in the system in the near future.

Borghildur Erlingsdóttir, director of the Intellectual Property Office, says that one coordinated European patent marks a major turning point in European intellectual property protection. "Now this is finally becoming a reality, and for Icelandic parties who intend to apply for a patent for their inventions in Europe, it can be assumed that the process will now be both simpler and cheaper."