The proposed regulations presented by the European Commission lay down the terms and conditions for obtaining unitary patent protection, its legal effects and the applicable translation arrangements. According to the Commission, this will radically reduce the cost of patents in Europe by up to 80%. EC also hopes that Spain and Italy, who are not yet among the participants, will join the enhanced cooperation.

These proposals are as a part of the Single Market Act presented for 2012 and with these measures, European Commission pretends to reduce radically the cost of patents in Europe by up to 80%.  Under the EU Treaty and the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, enhanced cooperation allows nine or more Member States to move forward on in a particular area as a last resort if no agreement can be reached by the EU as a whole within a reasonable period (which is the case right now). Other Member States can opt to join at any stage before or after enhanced cooperation has been launched.

In concrete, the proposed regulations pretend the following:

• Holders of European patents can apply for unitary patent protection for the territory of 25 Member States at the EPO. The patent will ensure the same level of protection for their inventions in all 25 countries. Under these proposals, the cost for a European patent with unitary effect in 25 Member States would be €680, after a transitional period during which costs would still be less than €2500.
  
• Patent applications can be submitted in any language, however, building on its existing working procedures, the EPO will continue to examine and grant applications in English, French or German (the official languages of the EPO).
• European patents with unitary effect that were granted in French or German will need to be translated to English, for a transitional period of maximum 12 years. The ones granted in English will need to be translated to another official language of the EU.

The draft regulations will now pass to the Council and the European Parliament for consideration. The Commission hopes Spain and Italy, who are not yet among the participants, will join the enhanced cooperation.