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The unitary patent for Switzerland and Liechtenstein is a patent having a unitary character over the territories of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It can either be a national patent, or a European patent granted under the European Patent Convention (EPC) and having a unitary character pursuant to . The unitary patent "may only be granted, transferred, annulled or lapse in respect of the whole territory of protection," i.e. for both Switzerland and Liechtenstein.〔Article 4(1) of the Treaty of 22 December 1978〕 The special agreement establishing this unitary patent is the Treaty between the Swiss Confederation and the Principality of Liechtenstein on Patent Protection of 22 December 1978, which entered into force on 1 April 1980. This special agreement is also a regional patent agreement within the meaning of . Amongst the bilateral treaties concluded between Switzerland and Liechtenstein in the field of patents, the Patent Treaty of 22 December 1978 is considered to be the most important one. A European patent may only be granted jointly in respect of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, following a joint designation under .〔〔Article 2 of the Treaty of 22 December 1978〕 The unitary patent for Switzerland and Liechtenstein is the only unitary patent under Article 142(1) EPC being currently in force. The agreement underlying the EU unitary patent, that would be valid in participating member states of the European Union, has been signed but is not in force, as of March 2014. == Background == Patents granted under the European Patent Convention (EPC) are called European patents. Those are granted following a unified grant procedure based on a single patent application, in one language. After grant however, a European patent is not a unitary right, but becomes a bundle of essentially independent nationally-enforceable, nationally-revocable patents –subject to central revocation or narrowing as a group pursuant to two types of unified, post-grant procedures: a time-limited opposition procedure, which can be initiated by any person except the patent proprietor, and limitation and revocation procedures, which can be initiated by the patent proprietor only. Until the entry into force of the Patent Treaty between Switzerland and Liechtenstein on 1 April 1980, Swiss patents could be also enforced in Liechtenstein, which at that time did not grant its own patents. This had been made possible by a regulation unilaterally enacted in 1924 by Liechtenstein, but considered only as a temporary measure. The legal situation was unsatisfactory. In the 1970s, when both the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the European Patent Convention (EPC) were signed and came into effect, to which Liechtenstein wished to participate, Liechtenstein had to either enact its own patent law or sign a regional patent treaty with Switzerland. Liechtenstein chose the latter possibility.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Unitary patent (Switzerland and Liechtenstein)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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