UPC Central Division: Procedural Decision: Application to Set Aside a Decision of the EPO to Refuse a Request for Unitary Effect

The patent was granted to the applicant, but not for Malta, as it was not a member of the EPC when the original application was filed. When the request for unitary effect was filed in 2025, Malta was a member of the Unitary Patent system. The EPO refused the request for unitary effect, and the Court confirms this decision. A patent with unitary effect must have been granted with the same set of claims for all participating Member States at the time of the request. The lack of a grant in Malta contradicts this rule. This is not a legislative gap, but a conscious decision by the EU legislator. The EPO had no discretion, but was obliged to refuse the request pursuant to R 7(2) RoP (CD Paris 30.12.2025, CFI 1771/2025).