During prosecution of patent applications in Europe decisions regarding coverage are predominantly made at the filing stage and at the grant stage. At the filing stage applicants decide if they want to pursue a European patent applications at the EPO or national patent applications filed at the various national patent office. Once a European patent grants, a decision on the countries in which the patent should be validated needs to be made. In future, a further decision if Unitary Patent protection is desired also needs to be made. This video also covers:

  • Will important inventions warrant changes to the filing strategy for divisional applications?
  • Can jurisdiction of the Unified Patent Court can be avoided by opting the European patent out in the 7 year transition period?
  • How long is opt out status valid for?

You can learn more in our series of short UPC and UP videos here

To speak directly to a member of our UPC team please email upc@marks-clerk.com

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.