The single EU “Unitary patent” took a further step to being established on 15 October when Slovenia became the latest country to deposit the so-called “instrument of ratification” for the Protocol on the Provisional Application of Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement (PAP-Protocol) and the UPC Agreement itself. This ratification brought the establishment of the European Unified Patent Court and the European unitary patent one step closer to its launch. The European Unitary Patent is intended to be a single patent right that is effective in those EU countries which have chosen to participate. It will be overseen by the Unified Patent Court (UPC).
Thanks to the Slovenian ratification and following the recent ratification of the PAP-Protocol by the German government, one last ratification (or expression to be bound) is now necessary in order for the Court to enter the final phase of its set-up.
The deposit of this last remaining ratification of the PAP-Protocol will trigger the start of the period of the provisional application (PAP) and therefore the implementation of the Unified Patent Court as an international organization. During this phase of provisional application, the administration of the UPC will be established. There will be a need to adopt “secondary legislation” and decide on the Court’s first budget. The electronic case management system will be completed and tested and the process to select and appoint the judges of the Court will be completed.
If you are interested in knowing more about the UPC and how it will affect you and your company, then please feel free to get in touch.
