Patent protection, disputes and recovery: the decisions this practice answers
This hub sits above the patent protection, disputes and recovery practice. It sends you to the page that matches your situation: filing and ownership, a competitor's overlapping application, infringement, or recovery of counterfeit goods at the border. Each linked page states its own sources and its own limit.
Where to start
The table below sorts common situations by the page that answers them. Pick the row closest to your case, then open the linked or named page for the next step.
| Situation | Where it is answered |
|---|---|
| A competitor files an application close to your product | A dedicated situational page, listed below under related publications |
| You need to establish who owns the result of a commissioned or employee development | Ownership of results overview |
| Your assets are tokenised or otherwise digital, and ownership needs proof | Tokenised rights overview |
| Counterfeit goods are entering or leaving the EU through a member state border | Governed by the EU customs enforcement regime, see sources below |
| You need protection across several EU member states through a single filing | Governed by the unitary patent and the Unified Patent Court, see sources below |
Related overviews within intellectual property
Two adjacent questions come up often enough to deserve their own page. Ownership of results overview and the deadline sets out who owns a patentable result when several parties contributed to it.
Where the asset itself is digital, Tokenised rights and digital objects and the evidence covers what counts as proof of rights in that context.
Sources and limits
Four EU instruments frame this practice area. Customs enforcement of counterfeit goods rests on Regulation (EU) No 608/2013, in force since 1 January 2014. Cross-border unitary protection rests on Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012 and Council Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012, both in force since 1 June 2023. The forum for disputes over a unitary patent is set out in the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, in force since the same date.
These four instruments cover the EU layer only. A national layer sits underneath each of them, and it is addressed on the situational page relevant to your country, not on this hub.
Before a dispute reaches a patent question, it is often worth checking who you are actually dealing with. Counterparty in Lithuania in practice sets out what a due diligence report can and cannot establish about a Lithuanian party.
What this page does not decide
This hub does not state a filing procedure, a deadline, or a decision-making body. Those belong to the situational page matching your case. It does not name a cost or a timeframe either; that sits on the service page for the relevant practice.
Related publications
A competitor files a patent application next to your product walks through the first checks and the first move.
See also
How we handle personal data in a patent dispute, including data drawn from a competitor's filing, is set out in the Privacy notice: two roles, two bases and what to expect from each.
Frequently asked questions
What does this change in practice?
Nothing changes on this page itself. It routes you to the page that carries the answer for your situation, and that page states the procedure, the forum and the deadline that apply to it.
Which deadline applies?
There is no single deadline for the whole practice area. Filing deadlines, opposition windows and dispute deadlines differ by situation and are stated on the matching situational page, not on this hub.
What do you need from us to start?
The filing or publication date, the application or patent number if one exists, and a short description of what the other side has done. We ask for the counterpart's name and country so the right national layer can be checked.