Following the deposit of Germany’s ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court earlier today, 17th February 2023, all of the conditions required for the agreement to come into force have now been met. The Agreement will therefore enter into force on the 1st June 2023 (i.e. the 1st day of the fourth month after Germany has deposited its ratification).
From the 1st June 2023 unitary patent protection will become available in an initial group of 17 EU member states (Germany, France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Slovenia), with the potential for further EU member states to join this group in the future. In addition, the newly created Unified Patent Court will start to hear infringement actions, declarations of non-infringement, revocation actions, and related counterclaims concerning all patents that fall within its jurisdiction, which includes previously granted national European patents which have not been “opted-out”, over which it will have exclusive jurisdiction. Contractual and ownerships disputes will primarily remain the preserve of the national courts.
UK patent attorneys who are also European qualified are entitled to have full rights of audience in the new court and our attorneys look forward to representing and serving our clients as they enter this new world of centralised patent rights in Europe. We will also continue to represent our clients before the EPO, as we have done since its inception. UK national patent rights will continue to be available using the national validation route for validating granted European patents, with our attorneys being well placed to prosecute and enforce your patent rights across both the UK and Europe.
What happens next
With the UPC set to commence in just a few short months, a “sunrise” period will commence on 1st March 2023, during which time rights holders must prepare for the new court and unitary patent. Any existing European patents validated in the 17 EU member states listed above will fall under the jurisdiction of the of the new court unless “opted-out” and decisions will need to be taken for pending applications about to proceed to grant as there will now be opportunities to pursue a new unified patent in the contracting member states, as well as utilising the conventional validation routes for securing a bundle of separate national rights.
WP Thompson is in the process of contacting all of our clients to discuss the potential benefits and ramifications of the new unitary system for patent protection in Europe, and further updates will also be provided on our website in the upcoming weeks and months.
If you have any questions about the unitary patent or UPC please contact your usual WP Thompson contact.
Alternatively, if you have specific questions concerning the opt-out procedure, please contact upcoptout@wpt.co.uk.