Patents in Belgium are governed by Title 1 (“Patents”) of Book XI (“Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets”) CEL.
In accordance with the new European patent system, several updates are expected on EU level, including:
- Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 17, 2012 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection,
- Council Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012 of December 17, 2012 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection with regard to the applicable translation arrangements,
- Agreement on the Unified Patent Court 16351/12 of January 11, 2013 (UPC Agreement).
Regulations (EU) 1257/12 and (EU) 1260/2012 already entered into force on January 20, 2013only apply once the UPC Agreement enters into force. As the Protocol on Provisional Application of the UPC Agreement entered into force following Austria’s official ratification on January 19, 2022, the last part of the preparatory work in establishing the Unified Patent Court (UPC) is currently being conducted.
The unitary patent system will make it possible to get patent protection in up to 25 EU Member States by submitting a single application with the European Patent Office, thus simplifying the procedure and making it more affordable for applicants.
The UPC is an international court established by the participating EU Member States to deal with infringement and validity cases of unitary patents as well as European patents, thus eliminating costly parallel proceedings and increasing legal certainty. The unified patent jurisdiction will consist of a first instance court in Paris (with a section in Munich) and a court of appeal in Luxembourg, as well as local divisions in several countries, including in Brussels.
With the upcoming entry into force of the UPC Agreement expected to occur on June 1, 2023, the transitional measures of the unitary patent system already started on January 1, 2023. Since this date, patent applicants are now able to file early requests for unitary effect as well as requests to postpone the decision to grant a European patent. These measures will remain applicable until the full entry into force of the unitary patent system.
Institute for Patent Attorneys – The new Belgian law of July 8, 2018 regulates the profession of ‘Patent Attorneys’ in Belgium. An Institute for Patent Attorneys will be established and everyone who is registered in the register of authorized representatives becomes a member of the institute and will, amongst other things, have the right to speak in patent litigation before the Belgian courts. The law of July 8, 2018 is accompanied by 2 Royal Decrees of September 30, 2020: (i) Royal Decree on the representation of patents, which entered into force on November 14, 2020 and (ii) Royal Decree on the disciplinary regulations applicable to patent attorneys, which partly entered into force on December 1, 2020. The provisions regarding the right to speak in patent litigation and confidentiality for Patent Attorneys have, however, not yet entered into force.