The select committee charged with setting in motion the future unitary patent reached a (20-year) agreement, on 24 June, on the renewal fees to be charged annually for the future patent protection.
This committee, whose members represent the 26 member states participating in the creation of the new patent (Spain and Croatia are not in the system), agreed on a fee level corresponding to the average fees charged in the four member states with the highest number of applications for…
State of play on ratification
There is no escaping the fact that the euphoria over adoption has been dampened by the slow pace of ratification of the international agreement establishing the unified patent court system. To date, only Austria, France, Belgium, Malta, Sweden, Denmark and Luxembourg have officially transmitted their ratification instruments, just over half the quorum required.
Select Committee
The legal basis for this committee is Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) 1257/2012 ("the Regulation") and Article 145 of the European Patent Convention. It was set up by the EU member states participating in the unitary patent to supervise the EPO's activities related to the tasks entrusted to it in the context of unitary patent protection. The committee's powers include the setting of fees. It is composed of a chairman, deputy chairman, secretary, the participating member states as defined in Article 2a) of the Regulation, the European Patent Office and the European Commission as observer, along with other observers (including BusinessEurope).
The legal basis for this committee is Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) 1257/2012 ("the Regulation") and Article 145 of the European Patent Convention. It was set up by the EU member states participating in the unitary patent to supervise the EPO's activities related to the tasks entrusted to it in the context of unitary patent protection. The committee's powers include the setting of fees. It is composed of a chairman, deputy chairman, secretary, the participating member states as defined in Article 2a) of the Regulation, the European Patent Office and the European Commission as observer, along with other observers (including BusinessEurope).