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European officials announced Wednesday that Romania has joined Europe's unitary patent system after ratifying the agreement just ahead of its first anniversary.

Nineteen million Romanians can start using the one-stop patent shop from Sept. 1, which is designed to make it cheaper and easier for inventors to enforce their intellectual property, the European Patent Office said.

Romania's Ratification of the UPC

The country's decision to ratify the deal just before June 1, a year after the system officially went live, demonstrated "the Romanian government's awareness of the benefits of the new patent system for the country's innovating businesses," António Campinos, the office's president, said in a statement.

Romania Becomes 18th EU State To Join UPC : Joining Key Patent Jurisdictions

Romania joins vital patent jurisdictions such as Germany, France, The Netherlands, and Italy at the UPC. It has also moved ahead of Ireland, which has been delaying a vote to amend its constitution and officially join the ranks.

Romania Becomes 18th EU State To Join UPC : UPC's Growing Influence

The court appears to be living up to its promise as a premier venue for global patent litigation. It has poached the most talented judges from national forums, most recently hiring three judges to its central division in Milan, and a Pinsent Masons attorney to its Luxembourg appellate court.

The court is also delivering promising procedural decisions, showing it can offer speedy injunctions — particularly those sitting at the German UPC. Düsseldorf, Munich, and Mannheim are the most popular divisions of the court, with recent data showing that litigators filed more than half of the 205 total claims so far in the country.

Romania's Impact on the EU Patent System

Romania's addition "underlines the relevance of the new patent system for all EU member states looking to participate in the internal market for technologies and so to further European economic integration," Campinos added.