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The European patent with unitary effect and the Unified Patent Court represent the most important change in the European patent system in decades.

Entered into force on June 1, 2023, the European patent with unitary effect provides uniform protection and has equal effect in all participating Member States, which are 18: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden.

The EPO manages the procedure for the European patent with unitary effect, its register and the collection of the single annual renewal fee.

The Unified Patent Court consists of a new legal entity that has exclusive jurisdiction over all European patents with unitary effect, traditional European patents with validation in individual countries, and supplementary protection certificates derived from those patents.

For a period of at least seven years, traditional European patents can be withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court by filing an opt-out request. The opt-out requests can be massively filed as of March 1, 2023, for all granted European patents and European patent applications.

Although only 18 countries have up to taken part to the new system, other countries that are members of both the European Union and the European Patent Convention will be able to join after having signed and ratified the regulations and agreements under the new system.