I. Principles
If a Unitary Patent is sought, one central patent renewal fee is to be paid to the EPO. This one central renewal fee will maintain the Unitary Patent in all 17 member states of the Unified Patent Court, namely:
- Austria,
- Belgium,
- Bulgaria,
- Denmark,
- Estonia,
- Finland,
- France,
- Germany,
- Italy,
- Latvia,
- Lithuania,
- Luxembourg,
- Malta,
- the Netherlands,
- Portugal,
- Slovenia, and
- Sweden
Requesting Unitary Effect for a granted European Patent does not effect maintenance of that particular grant in non-UPC countries. For patent maintenance in non-UPC countries, the national patent renewal fees and requirements apply.