The Select Committee representing the EU member states participating in the new unitary patent has formalised a series of agreements into a complete secondary legal framework comprising the implementing rules, budgetary and financial rules, the level of the renewal fees and the rules concerning the distribution of the renewal fees between the European Patent Office (EPO) and the participating member states. With this, the EPO is legally, technically and operationally ready to deliver the unitary patent. However, there remains the opening of the Unified Patent Court and the finalisation of the ratification process at national level before the process of granting unitary patents can begin.

Source: Unitary Patent ready to go, 15 December 2015.