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On 7 August 2021, Germany formally ratified the Agreement on a Unified EU Patent Court (“UPC Agreement“). The ratification came after battles in recent years over the constitutionality of the ratification bill. In 2017, the German ratification was put on hold because a constitutional complaint had argued that the German law approving the UPC Agreement was passed without the required quorum of the German Parliament. After the German parliamentarians fixed their mistake and approved the draft law with a two-thirds majority on 26 November 2020, the ratification was …
Continue Reading Germany Ratifies EU Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement, but Prospects for the UPC Remain Uncertain

In an order published today, the German Federal Constitutional Court decided that the Act of Approval to the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (“UPC Agreement”) is void. In its reasoning, the Court held that the ratification of the UPC Agreement violated democratic principles as the Act of Approval was not passed by two thirds of the members of the German Parliament (Bundestag). Thus, the Bundestag did not effectively pass the Act of Approval.
Continue Reading German Federal Constitutional Court Decides that German Ratification of UPC Agreement is Void

On 27 February 2020, the UK government unofficially announced that the UK will not participate in the Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court system. The decision was confirmed by a spokesperson for the prime minister, who stated that “Participating in a court that applies EU law and bound by the CJEU is inconsistent with…

The future of the European Unified Patent Court (UPC) appears to look a bit clearer following recent ratification activities. On 16 January 2017, the Preparatory Committee for the UPC announced on its website that it is working under the assumption that the UPC can become operational in December 2017. However, the Committee stated that this timeline is conditional on a number of factors, with the most important being “the necessary ratifications of the [UPC Agreement] and accession to the Protocol on Provisional Application”. So far, twelve EU Member States have ratified the UPC Agreement, including France (14 March 2014) and Italy (10 February 2017).
Continue Reading German Parliament Approves Ratification of the UPC Agreement

On 28 November 2016, the UK government issued a press release that, despite the UK’s leave from the EU, commonly known as “Brexit,” it still plans to ratify the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (“UPC Agreement”) over the coming months. The UPC Agreement was signed by 24 out of 25 EU Member States that participate in the enhanced cooperation procedure to create a unitary patent system in the EU, including the UK.
Continue Reading UK Government Signals Preparations to Ratify the UPC Agreement Despite Brexit

On 16 February 2016, the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection published the first draft of legislation that will make it possible for Germany to ratify the UPC Agreement. The draft law granting consent for ratification was published together with accompanying draft legislation to implement the unitary patent system into German law. The accompanying law proposal in particular contains changes to German patent and civil procedure law to accommodate the unitary patent. It, among other things, also addresses the delegation of German judges to the UPC.
Continue Reading The Ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement in Germany