European unitary patent system ‘could launch next year’

German ratification of Unified Patent Court protocol opens up final steps towards pan-European patents

A joint patent system for 24 European countries could finally launch in 2022 after what would be about a decade of work.

One of the last obstacles to the launch of the Unified Patent Court—which would be part of a system intended to make it easier, cheaper and more effective for people to protect their intellectual property across the continent—was removed on 27 September, when Germany finally ratified a protocol on the provisional application of a UPC agreement. Legal cases that had delayed the move for years were resolved by a national court in July.