Romania is poised to join the Unitary Patent system a move that will simply business for the nation’s innovators.
Romania made a bid which was ratified by the UPCA on May 31. Starting Sept.1 all European patents taking up unitary effect will automatically cover Romania, the European Patent Office said.
The development takes the number of EU member states participating in the Unitary Patent system to 18, adding an additional market of 19 million people, the population of Romania.
“Completing its ratification process on the eve of the first anniversary of the Unitary Patent system demonstrates the Romanian government’s awareness of the benefits of the new patent system for the country’s innovative businesses”, said EPO President António Campinos.
“It also underlines the relevance of the new patent system for all EU Member States looking to participate in the internal market for technologies and to deepen European economic integration.”
Since the Unitary Patent went into effect on June 1, the EPO received more than 28,000 requests for patents and registered almost 27,700 of them. Amost one in four European patents granted has been converted into a Unitary Patent this year.
The Unitary Patent system carries the advantage of lower costs, a streamlined procedure, uniform protection and greater legal certainty. Inventors can apply for and maintain patent protection, pay renewal fees and register subsequent transactions (such as the granting of licenses) at the EPO as a central one-stop shop.
The process removes the bureaucracy of simultaneously dealing with ifferent national procedures, which is a boon especially for small and medium-sized businesses.
