EU Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court

The article gives a brief introduction of both the coming Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court in Europe. The Unitary Patent is based on two EU-Regulations and is drafted as an alternative to the existing validation system in Europe. The Unified Patent Court is based on an international treaty and will replace the existing national litigation for Unitary patents as well as European patents, i.e. all patents granted by the EPO will fall under the courts jurisdiction. The Unified Patent Court’s juridical basis as well as the topological and personal organization is shortly explained, together with an introduction into the procedures.