CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Subject matter
Article 1
1
This Regulation implements enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection, authorised by Decision 2011/167/EU.
2
This Regulation constitutes a special agreement within the meaning of Article 142 of the Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, as revised on 17 December 1991 and on 29 November 2000 (hereinafter ‘EPC’).

Definitions
Article 2
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
1. ‘Participating Member State’ means a Member State which participates in enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection by virtue of Decision 2011/167/EU, or by virtue of a decision adopted in accordance with the second or third subparagraph of Article 331(1) of the TFEU, at the time the request for unitary effect as referred to in Article 9 is made;
2. ‘European patent’ means a patent granted by the European Patent Office (hereinafter ‘EPO’) under the rules and procedures laid down in the EPC;
3. ‘European patent with unitary effect’ means a European patent which benefits from unitary effect in the participating Member States by virtue of this Regulation;
4. ‘European Patent Register’ means the register kept by the EPO under Article 127 of the EPC;
5. ‘Register for unitary patent protection’ means the register constituting part of the European Patent Register in which the unitary effect and any limitation, licence, transfer, revocation or lapse of a European patent with unitary effect are registered;
6. ‘European Patent Bulletin’ means the periodical publication provided for in Article 129 of the EPC.

European patent with unitary effect
Article 3
1
A European patent granted with the same set of claims in respect of all the participating Member States shall benefit from unitary effect in the participating Member States provided that its unitary effect has been registered in the Register for unitary patent protection.
A European patent granted with different sets of claims for different participating Member States shall not benefit from unitary effect.
2
A European patent with unitary effect shall have a unitary character. It shall provide uniform protection and shall have equal effect in all the participating Member States.
It may only be limited, transferred or revoked, or lapse, in respect of all the participating Member States.
It may be licensed in respect of the whole or part of the territories of the participating Member States.
3
The unitary effect of a European patent shall be deemed not to have arisen to the extent that the European patent has been revoked or limited.

Date of effect
Article 4
1
A European patent with unitary effect shall take effect in the participating Member States on the date of publication by the EPO of the mention of the grant of the European patent in the European Patent Bulletin.
2
The participating Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, where the unitary effect of a European patent has been registered and extends to their territory, that European patent is deemed not to have taken effect as a national patent in their territory on the date of publication of the mention of the grant in the European Patent Bulletin.