Obtaining a patent can be a rather arduous process, and it is therefore not surprising that sometimes thought is not given to the breadth of patent protection that is needed. The Unitary Patent (UP) is intended to solve the problem of having to undertake separate patent processes in several different countries, at least insofar as it applies across the European Union, where all the principal countries except Spain have signed up.

The benefit for the creators of valuable intellectual property (IP) is that a single UP application will mean protection in all contracting states.