On December 17, 2012, following a complex negotiation which lasted 12 years, the European Parliament adopted Regulations (EU) 1257/2012 and 1260/2012, and the text of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC Agreement). These instruments institute the 'European patent with unitary effect, ' the first unified system for the protection of inventions within the EU. The two Regulations will be applicable after the entry into force of the UPC Agreement, which was signed on February 19, 2013 by 24 Member States of the EU. This book traces the evolution of the idea behind the institution of the...