EPO launches Unitary Patent dashboard revealing daily take-up figures
Interactive statistics chart shows more than 5,000 requests for unitary effect | Data can be filtered by country, language and technology sector.
The European Patent Office (EPO) has launched a dashboard on Unitary Patents in order to “create transparency” on take-up, it was announced yesterday, July 24.
The dashboard allows inventors and the public to monitor the number of requests received by the EPO for patents with unitary effect, and will be updated daily.
It is possible to view the status of these registrations, their countries of origin, in which technology sector the patents are classified and information regarding the languages used.
Users can interact with the dashboard and filter results to see, for example, how many registrations are pending in certain countries and technology sectors.
It can be found in the statistics centre on the EPO’s website, along with the Patent Index which provides an overview of European patent applications in 2022.
António Campinos, president of the EPO, said: “The dashboard will create transparency by providing relevant information on how the take-up of the Unitary Patent is evolving.
“It covers relevant parameters for users to gain a comprehensive overview of the attractiveness of the Unitary Patent to innovating businesses from around the globe. Current data is highly promising with 670 requests filed on average per week since June 1, demonstrating high interest in the new system.”
Germany leads on Unitary Patent requests
According to the dashboard as of today (July 25), there had been 5,152 requests received for patents with unitary effect, with 4,694 registrations and 453 pending. Five requests had been withdrawn.
In terms of the origin of patent proprietors (first named on requests received), Germany had the most requests out of the 17 participating states with 1,016. The US had the next highest amount (712) followed by France (400), Switzerland (324) and Sweden (269). The UK and China were on 243 and 242 respectively.
The technology sector with the most requests for Unitary Patents was infrastructure and mechanics, accounting for 20.6%, followed by health at 19.7% and materials and production at 19.3%. Digital stood at 10.4%.
UPC’s IT issues
Since opening its doors on June 1, the Unified Patent Court, which will settle disputes across the participating countries, has been criticised for having technical problems with its case management system (CMS) and a lack of visibility regarding claims filed.
Martyn Fish, partner at HGF, told WIPR last month that the low number of visible cases at the court was a “surprising” trend, and that there could be a significant amount of claims filed that weren’t appearing on the system.
Hogan Lovells’ Anna-Katharina Friese-Okoro said this could be due to the CMS as it “has experienced significant problems”.
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