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ARTICLE · 05 APRIL 2017

Netherlands – 11th State To Ratify UPC Agreement

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In spite of the post-Brexit uncertainty over the unitary patent and unified patent court, the Netherlands has become the 11th Member State to ratify the Agreement on the UPC.

European UnionIntellectual Property
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In spite of the post-Brexit uncertainty over the unitary patent and unified patent court, the Netherlands has become the 11th Member State to ratify the Agreement on the UPC.

It has been speculated that the participating EU Member States will re-locate the London section of the UPC's Central Division to a country within the EU following Brexit. Given that the potential contenders for the Court's new location are Milan and The Hague, the Netherlands has put itself in a good position now it has ratified the UPC agreement.

However, there is still a shadow cast over the ability for the UPC agreement to come into effect, as it can only come into effect when ratified by 13 participating countries, which must include the three EU Member States in which the most EPs had effect in 2012 (the year before the Agreement was signed) – France, Germany and the UK.

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