Europe’s Unitary Patent Gains Traction Among Universities and SMEs

Launched in June 2023, the unitary patent was designed to simplify and reduce the cost of protecting inventions across multiple EU member states. Now, nearly two years later, adoption of the system is picking up pace, particularly among universities and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). According to the European Patent Office (EPO), more than 57% of patents granted to SMEs and universities in 2024 requested unitary protection, highlighting how widely the system is being embraced by these sectors.