4. Determining territories to protect creation

The principle of territoriality means that an IP right is protected only for the national (or regional) territory of the country (or territory, for example, of the European Union) for which it is granted. Thus, a French patent will only protect you on French territory, and the invention will be freely reproducible elsewhere. This principle also applies to trademarks and designs.

Within the European Union, unitary rights exist covering the 27 member states for trademarks and designs. With regard to patents, a unitary patent system is expected to be in place by the second half of 2022, providing uniform protection for 25 participating EU member states (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia,...