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One of the major sticking points in the creation of the Unitary Patent system (which now covers 18 EU countries) was the debate as to which languages would be used, and in what capacity.
Plainly, for a Unitary Patent to be cost effective, requiring translations into the national languages of each contracting state is not feasible. However, there is clearly a legitimate question about whether this unfairly prejudices proprietors or alleged infringers who work in contracting states with different official languages to those used by the UPC. This argument was raised in a case before the CJEU by Spain, who were opposed to the UPC’s proposed reliance on English, French and German, and ultimately decided not to join the Unitary Patent System.
One feature of the Unitary Patent (UP) system is a valuable benefit for smaller applicants: a €500 flat‑rate reimbursement to help cover translation costs during the patent application process.
What is the compensation scheme?
To ease translation-related expenses for eligible applicants, the European Patent Office (EPO) offers a €500 lump-sum reimbursement as part of the Unitary Patent compensation scheme.
To be eligible, the applicant must be either an SME, natural person, non-profit organisation, university, or public research organisation. The European patent application or Euro-PCT application leading to the UP must have been filed in an official EU language other than English, French, or German.
The applicant must also have their residence or principal place of business in an EU member state.
Currently, a translation of the granted specification into English if the language of the proceedings before the EPO was French or German, or into any other EU language if the language of proceedings was English, is required for Unitary Patent validation. For EU-based applicants meeting the criteria above and seeking UP protection, it may therefore be worth considering filing a European patent application in an admissible non-EPO language (i.e., an EU language other than English, French, or German). However, it should be borne in mind that after the transitional period of six years (which may be extended up to a maximum of 12 years), such translations will no longer be required when opting for a Unitary Patent.
How and when to request the reimbursement
Applicants must submit their reimbursement request together with the request for unitary effect. Evidence for eligibility is not required, however the EPO may subsequently request evidence of eligibility.
The compensation is awarded only after unitary effect has been entered in the Register for Unitary Patent Protection.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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