30 November 2016
To the surprise of many, the UK is expected to soon ratify the
Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA), despite the 'Brexit'
vote last June.
Providing that Germany also ratifies it in the near future
(which is highly likely), the agreement will probably come into
force in 2017. Patent owners and applicants therefore need to start
to think soon about whether to opt their patents in or out of the
system.
The constitution and operation of the UPC after the UK leaves
the EU (probably in 2019) are still uncertain, but we expect the
system to continue after then, with the UK remaining a part of the
system.
So what's new?
On 28 November, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, the Minister of State
for Energy and Intellectual Property, announced to the EU
Competiveness Council that the UK is intending to ratify the
Unified Patent Court Agreement (UPCA), paving the way for the
creation of the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court (UPC) in
2017, with the UK a
