Firstly, one can protect one's innovations with a single patent in several countries at the same time and save a lot of paper, time and costs. Above all, the otherwise very time-consuming translation into the national languages is no longer necessary. The unitary patent can be applied for in German, English or French. Instead of one fee per country, only one fee is charged for all participating countries. The annual fee is comparable to the fee for four countries and currently provides protection for 17 countries. A unitary patent will cost an average of about €5,600. Instead of a fee for each country in which patent protection is sought, the unitary patent has a single fee for all participating states. The unitary patent must be filed with the European Patent Office and is then granted by it. Since 1/1/2023, the European Patent Office offers measures to facilitate the application for unitary effect (early application, and delayed grant, see: https://www.epo.org/applying/european/unitary/unitary-patent/transitional-arrangements-for-early-uptake.html ).
All information on the new EU unitary patent can be found at: https://www.epo.org/applying/european/unitary/unitary-patent.html