Starting in June, the European Union will introduce the European Unified Patent System, providing a unified approach to patent protection across member states and reducing costs associated with protecting inventions. Instead of filing for patents or legal remedies in individual nations, businesses and individuals can rely on a single, comprehensive patent that covers most of Europe and the Unified Patent Court to enforce it.

However, some big companies are sceptical about the new system's effectiveness, given that only 17 of the 27 member states are participating. While the European Round Table for Industry has urged caution, saying that the system must first demonstrate its effectiveness and competitiveness in terms of the costs for applicants.

The EU is lagging behind in registering intellectual property, as evidenced by the fact that only a small percentage of the 3.4 million patent filings in 2021 came from the EU member states. China accounts for the largest filings, followed by the United States, Japan, and South Korea. Despite the EU's strength in research, it has struggled to translate this into market success, losing billions of euros. BASF CEO Martin Bruderm