Hungary Says "No" To UPC Agreement

The Hungarian Constitutional Court today ruled that the Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA) is contrary to the Hungarian constitution and therefore cannot be ratified by Hungary.The decision (in Hungarian) is available here.

The Constitutional Court made this ruling on the basis that the UPCA would deprive the Hungarian courts of certain competences which are their exclusive preserve under the Hungarian constitution.

While the Hungarian Court's decision is undoubtedly a blow to the Unified Patent Court, it is not necessarily fatal as Hungarian participation is not essential to its entry into force.Whether or not this will have any impact on the parallel case currently pending under German law remains to be seen.