The Unitary Patent system was launched yesterday with the aim of making it simpler for companies to protect their innovations in Europe and capitalise on their IP.

The system covers 17 Member States and participation is open to further EU countries in the future.

The purpose of the new UP system is to:

- Lower the costs for protecting patents in Europe;
- Provide a one-stop-shop for registration of patents;
- Uniform protection of patents across the participating EU countries;
- Ensure higher legal certainty in enforcing patents thanks to the new Unified Patent Court (UPC);
- Encourage innovation, competitiveness and economic growth.

To find out more, please read the official press release here.