{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2012-1257/article-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2012-1257/article-2.json",
  "legislation": "eur/2012/1257",
  "legislation_title": "Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2012 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2012-1257",
  "path": "article/2",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Definitions",
  "text": "For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:\n(a) ‘Participating Member State’ means a Member State which participates in enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection by virtue of Decision 2011/167/EU, or by virtue of a decision adopted in accordance with the second or third subparagraph of Article 331(1) of the TFEU, at the time the request for unitary effect as referred to in Article 9 is made;\n(b) ‘European patent’ means a patent granted by the European Patent Office (hereinafter ‘EPO’) under the rules and procedures laid down in the EPC;\n(c) ‘European patent with unitary effect’ means a European patent which benefits from unitary effect in the participating Member States by virtue of this Regulation;\n(d) ‘European Patent Register’ means the register kept by the EPO under Article 127 of the EPC;\n(e) ‘Register for unitary patent protection’ means the register constituting part of the European Patent Register in which the unitary effect and any limitation, licence, transfer, revocation or lapse of a European patent with unitary effect are registered;\n(f) ‘European Patent Bulletin’ means the periodical publication provided for in Article 129 of the EPC.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2012/1257/article/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T14:48:55.546662+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}