The European Patent Office (EPO) has set the renewal fees for the Unitary Patent. The level of these renewal fees, which will influence the success of the future Unitary Patent, were uncertain for quite some time.
The decision has been made based on the proposal true TOP 4. In this proposal, the renewal fees are based on the sum of the renewal fees that are currently due for the top 4 most validated countries; Germany, France, the UK and The Netherlands.
This provides an interesting opportunity for patentees that normally would validate their European patent in 4 or more countries or that are interested in a broader geographical coverage for a relatively small extra investment.
See also our dossier on the Unitary Patent.