One year after the start of the unitary patent system in June 2023 (see EUROPE 13192/37), the European Patent Office (EPO) has already registered more than 27,000 unitary patents, the European Commission said on Friday 31 May.
On average, almost one in four European patents granted (23%) is applied for in the 17 participating EU Member States, and this rate is rising steadily.
Most patents relate to medical technology (31%), civil engineering (6%) and transport (5%). Companies filing unitary patents are mainly German (18.3%), American (16.8%), French and Chinese (6.6% each). Nearly 62% of them are established in EPO member countries. The list of companies with the most patents includes: Johnson & Johnson (471), Siemens (438) and Samsung (346).
According to the Commission, around 350 cases have been filed with the Unified Patent Court (UPC). This new court will now make it possible to centralise litigation for unitary patents and, under certain conditions, for non-unitary European patents.
Further information: https://aeur.eu/f/chd (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)