Language rules of the European Patent with Unitary Effect

There are many languages spoken in the EU, and so the language used for the unitary patent has always been a difficult political sticking point. The EPO has been working with Google to improve machine translation for the technical subject-matter contained in patents. So, it is proposed that the unitary patent will be available automatically in all of the languages of the participating Member states by machine translations.

However, the legislation recognises that machine translations are not fit for purpose at the moment. So, the unitary patent is translated into a second language until machine translations reach an acceptable standard. The transitional period will last no more than 12 years.

For European patent applications granted in English, the patent is translated into the language of any one of the other participating EU member states. For European patent applications granted in French or German, the patent is translated into English.