Unitarni patent
Unitary Patent

Author(s): Jelena Ćeranić Perišić
Subject(s): International Law, EU-Legislation, Commercial Law, Comparative Law
Published by: Institut za uporedno pravo
Keywords: unitary patent; European Union law; intellectual property law; European patent system; unified patent court; single market integration; invention protection
Summary/Abstract: The monograph Unitary patent represents a kind of synthesis of two areas of the author's interest, namely: intellectual property law and the law of the European Union. The matter of the unitary patent is a new and therefore insufficiently researched area, not only in domestic but also in foreign literature, which contributes to the importance of this monograph. Today, in Europe, an invention can be protected by a European patent, in addition to a national patent. The Convention on the Issuance of European Patents established a supranational system of legal norms that determine the procedure for the recognition of European patents that directly produce effects in the member states. From the point of view of the EU, the disadvantage of the existing regional system based on the Convention on the Issuance of European Patents is the territorial limitation of the European patent only to the specified countries in which it has been individually validated. Therefore, the European patent is actually just a bundle of national patents. Consequently, the existing system of protection of inventions in Europe is not in accordance with the basic goal of European integration, which is the establishment of a single market. The invention protection system conceived in this way not only does not contribute to increasing economic growth, but also represents a serious obstacle to European entrepreneurship. The importance of establishing a unified system of protection of inventions on the territory of the European Communities/European Union was recognized by the member states as early as the sixties of the 20th century. However, work on establishing a unified patent system has been delayed due to disagreements between countries regarding certain aspects of protection. After several decades of negotiations, the EU member states managed to reach an agreement in 2012 on the establishment of a single system of protection of inventions in the European Union. On December 11, 2012, the so-called "patent legislative package" consisting of three components: the Regulation on implementation of closer cooperation in the field of establishment of unitary patent protection, the Regulation on implementation of closer cooperation in the field of establishment of unitary patent protection concerning translation and the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court. This agreement was signed in February 2013 by twenty-five EU member states. The two decrees on unitary patent protection entered into force on January 1, 2014, and will begin to apply when the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court enters into force, i.e. when ratified by at least thirteen EU member states (including the United Kingdom, Germany and France). Despite the fact that the system of unitary patent protection has not yet started to be implemented, the events that took place in the period from 2012 to June 2015 paved the way for the unitary patent. The moment that is relatively close to achieving the goal, in terms of the beginning of the application of the system of unitary patent protection, the author recognized as the right one to consider the advantages and disadvantages, opportunities and risks of this ambitious project. The author first examines the context in which the unitary patent will be implemented, more precisely the existing systems of protection of inventions in Europe, as well as their shortcomings, i.e. reasons for introducing a unitary patent. After that, the author presents the process of establishing a single system of protection of inventions in the EU and all the obstacles on the way. It then analyzes in detail the two decrees on unitary patent protection, as well as the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court. In the monograph, the author pays special attention to proceedings against unitary patent protection that were conducted before the European Court of Justice. Finally, it considers the extent to which a unitary patent is truly "unitary". In conclusion, the author assesses that, despite all the shortcomings, unitary patent protection will be an improvement over the existing system, or at least it will be a serious alternative.

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