歐洲的專利制度於2012年12月11日邁入了跨國家 (Supranational) 的歷史性里程碑：歐盟議會在這一天通過了2項法規草案，促成了單一專利及單一專利法院的建立。

除了義大利與西班牙之外，其餘歐盟25國已全數同意實行單一專利及單一專利法院。

時間點

• 2013年2月18日：單一專利結構協約之預定簽署日
• 2014年1月1日：單一專利制度（專利申請程序及單一專利法院）預計將於2014年1月1日強制生效；或是如果在2014 年1月1日之後只有第13個會員國追認該協約者，則單一專利結構協約將於第13個會員國追認後的4個月第1天生效。

單一專利

即將實施的單一專利可以讓獲得歐洲專利局（EPO）授權通過的專利在25個歐盟會員國得到專利保護。單一專利的申請及授權工作由EPO根據EPO相關條款規定執行，因此，其申請及授權過程與目前現有的歐洲專利（由EPO申請核淮）是一模一樣的。唯一不同的是，一旦獲得專利授權，只要申請人提出請求，其專利即會自動於25個歐盟會員國生效。

單一專利將依循EPO要求的申請語言制度，可以用英文、法文或德文來申請專利。唯一的翻譯要求就是當如果專利權之語言為法文或是德文，則說明書必須翻譯成英文；如果語言為英語，則僅須把說明書翻譯成25個會員國中其中一國的官方語言即可。

EPO將於新法生效前公布詳細申請程序及申請費用。

單一專利法院

目前，專利訴訟在歐洲是在國家層級下進行的；因此歐洲專利訴訟明顯是複雜且難解的，因為包涵了費用昂貴、判決差異的可能性、及法律確定性的需求。然而，單一專利法院制度將消除這些困難，因該法庭對歐洲專利與單一專利的訴訟，擁有專屬管轄權。

單一專利法院之成員將包括第一初審法院 (Court of First Instance)、上訴法院 (Appeals Court ) 及一登記處。第一初審法院將分別坐落於巴黎、倫敦及慕尼黑；而上訴法院則位於盧森堡。

結論：

EPO預計第一個單一專利將於2014產生。

日後持有之單一專利，除可在25個歐盟會員國同時間取得專利保護外，也可藉由單一專利法院的法律強制力，使歐洲專利與美國專利能夠並駕齊驅。

European Parliament Agrees on Unified Patent and Unified Patent Court

On the 11th of December 2012 a historic milestone was reached in the path to a supranational patent system for Europe: The European Parliament adopted two draft regulations for the establishment of the unitary patent and Unified Patent Court.

With the exception of Italy and Spain, the remaining 25 European Union states have agreed on adapting the unitary patent and Unified Patent Court.

Timeline:

• 18th of February 2013: Expected signing of the agreement for the formation of the Unified Patent.
• 1st of January 2014: It is expected that the unified patent system (Patent Application Process and Unified Patent Court) will enter into force; or if the 13th member state only ratifies the agreement after the 1st of January 2014, then on the 1st day of the 4th month after ratification by the 13th state.

Unitary Patent:

The unitary patent will afford patent protection in 25 EU member states, after grant by the EPO. The Unitary application will be administered by the EPO under the provisions of rules and regulations of the EPO. Thus, the application and grant process is identical to that of the current European Patent (by the EPO).
The difference is that once granted, upon request by the applicant, the patent will be automatically valid in 25 member states.

Unitary patents will follow the language regime of the EPO, allowing for patent prosecution in English, French or German. The only translation required will be: if the application language is French or German, then the specification has to be translated into English; if the application language is English, then the specification has to be translated into the official language of any one of the 25 member states.

Details of procedures and fees will be released by the EPO in due time.

Unified Patent Court:

Currently, patent litigation in Europe has to be conducted on a national level.
It is thus apparent that obscurities surrounding patent litigation in Europe include high costs, the possibility of diverging judgments, and the need for legal certainty.

The Unified Patent Court (UPC) will ease these difficulties, by having exclusive jurisdiction over litigation involving European patents and unitary patents.

The UPC will consist of a Court of First Instance, an Appeals Court, and a Registry.
The Court of First Instance will have seats in Paris, London and Munich. The UPC’s Appeals Court will be seated in Luxembourg.

Conclusion:

The EPO expects to validate the first unitary patent in 2014!

The treatment of the unitary patent as a single patent in 25 European states, and its enforceability through the Unified Patent Court, brings European patent competitiveness in line with the US Patent System.

** this article will be supplemented by detailed information regarding the procedures and fee schedule of the unitary patent once it is available

Facebook 按讚馬上加入北美智權報粉絲團