On December 11, 2012, the European Parliament approved three measures collectively known as the “EU Unitary Patent Package,” consisting of a regulation creating a European patent with unitary effect (the “Unitary Patent”); a regulation establishing a language regime for the Unitary Patent; and an international agreement setting up the “Unified Patent Court.” The EU Unitary Patent Package will create a single European-level patent for 25 EU Member States (all except Spain and Italy) as from January 1, 2014.
