Germany has ratified the European Unitary Patent

WORDUP PR has been working intensively on patents, innovations and intellectual property for almost 20 years. We are all the more pleased with the news that last week the German Bundestag cleared the way for a European unitary patent by a two-thirds majority. With the approval, the associated patent court will probably finally be able to start work in 2021. The reform of the European patent system, which has been planned since 2013, promises patent applicants significant savings in translation costs and renewal fees, especially for companies that choose to file a patent in several countries.

As early as 2017, Parliament had adopted a similar draft by a simple majority. At the time, however, the Federal Constitutional Court complained that the consent law required a two-thirds majority in parliament. However, only a small fraction of the Members were present at the april 2017 vote, so the approval was invalid. That is why a new vote in the Bundestag had become necessary: with the votes of all political groups except the AfD, the bill now received the required two-thirds majority.

The topics of patents, copyright and intellectual property will remain central for WORDUP PR in 2021: Next year, WORDUP PR, in cooperation with its long-standing customer ANAQUA, is planning four specialist events (live, hybrid and virtual) on the topic of innovation and intellectual property, in which the topic of the unitary patent will certainly also be discussed extensively. WORDUP PR has been holding regular specialist events on this topic since 2018, including the international event “Wiesn IP Forum” last year, in which more than 150 guests took part in the Munich Künstlerhaus and the Munich Oktoberfest.