The patent system in Europe is set to undergo its biggest overhaul since the 1970s, with the introduction of the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court. After more than 40 years of negotiations, and numerous false starts, the building blocks are in place for a patent with multi-jurisdictional European coverage and a new centralised court system. This article examines the current system, the Unitary Patent, the Unified Patent Court and practical points for life sciences businesses to start considering now.

This article is part of the PLC multi-jurisdictional guide to life sciences. For a full list of jurisdictional Q&As visit www.practicallaw.com/lifesciences-mjg.