The original intention was that the UP shall cover ALL of the 27 EU Member Countries. This may still be the case in the future.
However, as of today, the 18 countries participating in the UPC system are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania*, Slovenia and Sweden.
* Romania joined the unitary patent system on September 01, 2024.
6 countries which may still join the UPC system are: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Ireland and Slovakia.
Status of EU Member States
Three countries, namely, Spain, Poland and Croatia are currently not participating in the UPC system.
Due to Brexit, the UK has left the EU. Consequently, the UPC system shall not cover the UK (one of the top three countries in which EP patents are validated).
The EPC has 39 member states, all 27 EU member, as well as 12 non-EU member states. 18 EU member states are covered by the UPC system, namely, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden. The non-EU member states, namely, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, as well as 9 EU member states, namely Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, and Spain are not covered by the UPC system. Patent protection for these countries may only be achieved via the traditional route (classical EP or national route).