European Unitary Patent System – Transitional Provisions of the European Patent Office
The Unitary Patent Court has announced that the sunrise period for the court will not commence until 1 March 2023. This means that the Unitary Patent Court will start on 1 June 2023.
For holders of European patent applications, if you wish to obtain a Unitary Patent your application must still be pending at the European Patent Office (EPO) when the Unitary Patent Agreement commences.
Although we do not expect the sunrise period to start until 1 March, the EPO has initiated its provisions for delaying grant from 1 January 2023 to allow holders of pending applications to obtain a Unitary Patent if desired.
The EPO have provided two options for patent holders, and your patent attorney can advise you on the best course of action for your business:
1) Before responding to the Rule 71(3) Intention To Grant communication, the applicant can request a delay in the grant process.
It is still necessary, however, to take all the required steps to respond to the Rule 71(3) communication by the usual deadline, but once done, the EPO will put the grant process on hold until commencement.
This means that the application will formally grant in the first round of publication of grant following commencement. The applicant then has one month to request a Unitary Patent according to the standard Unitary Patent procedure.
2) When responding to the Rule 71(3) Intention to Grant communication, the applicant can file a request for a Unitary Patent. This will have the same effect of delaying publication of grant until the commencement of the Unitary Patent Agreement.
In addition, the Unitary Patent request will be activated as soon as the application is granted.
We are in the process of contacting all of our clients with a portfolio of European patents and applications to discuss the best options for them.
If you would like to discuss the implications of the new European Unitary Patent system on your business, please contact us to find out more.