Romania will join the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPCA) on September 1, 2024. The country deposited its instrument of ratification on May 31, 2024, becoming the 18th member state to join the UPCA.
This means that from this date, all European patents with unitary effect will also be valid in Romania, adding around 19 million people to the market covered by the unitary patent. At the same time, the Unified Patent Court will have jurisdiction over nullity and infringement proceedings concerning European patents with effect in Romania. Romania's accession marks the first expansion of the UPCA since its launch on June 1, 2023.