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patente unitaria

Is it time to rethink the unitary patent?

These are uncertain days in Europe in general and in Industrial Property in particular. In this order – which is not important – we are suffering from Brexit and its consequences, COVID-19 and now the German Federal Constitutional Court.

Indeed, the Unitary Patent project (to which we remember that Spain did not adhere due to the linguistic regulation that it implied) suffered a severe blow when the Government of Her Graceful Majesty recognized that they had not made such a trip to leave their saddlebags behind. patent rights and that from Brussels they could rule over British subjects as if nothing had happened. However, there was still a Union to compensate for this withdrawal and, with more enthusiasm than reality, many people involved in the project considered that its viability remained practically intact. However, the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) has been responsible for fining the patient and today has decided that the approval of the agreement in the Bundestag is not in accordance with law as it was not passed with a reinforced 2/3 majority. A technical issue, rather than a substantive one, but that added to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom makes the project unfeasible.

Therefore, and after mourning due to a project that, in our opinion, should no longer see the light of day, it is time to seriously consider: do you need a unitary patent and a unified court? From Jesana we consider that yes, indeed, we were in the group of the excited and we had prepared ourselves to be able to act before the Unified Court in defense of the interests of our clients. However, the rules of the game have changed and it is necessary to rethink the project from scratch so that all the member countries of the European Union, and especially Spain, can participate in a renewed patent and unified court that can be really useful for the business community. European.

Jesús Sahuquillo
European Patent Agent
Industrial Property Agent

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