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ARTICLE · 28 MARCH 2017

Still Confident The UPC Could Open In December 2017

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This timing would enable the Court to make necessary preparations before the planned entry into force in December 2017.

United KingdomIntellectual Property
HGF Limited
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Last week the UPC Preparatory Committee announced it was "confident" that the provisional application phase of the UPC could start at the end of May 2017.  This timing would enable the Court to make necessary preparations before the planned entry into force in December 2017.

One caveat was that ..."The timetable of the entry into force is subject to change given the reliance on national governments to accede to the Protocol on Provisional Application however regular updates will appear on this website on progress."

The different national governments are different stages of readiness; 14 member states have signed to date.  The UK signed the Protocol on Provisional Application on 14 December 2016, however a Statutory Instrument to give the Protocol legal effect in the UK is still awaited.  

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