January 23, 2017

UPC: new developments

The Preparatory Committee has announced that the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court is likely to enter into force approximately in December, 2017.

The Committee is now working on implementation of the Provisional Application Phase (PAP) which is planned for late spring, approximately May, 2017. The PAP implies establishing the Unified Patent Court as an organisation and a start of its governing bodies’ functioning. In December, 2017, the Agreement on the Unified Patent Court and the Court itself will become operational. In a view of the fact that all existing European patents will automatically be subject to the new system, patent owners will have a so-called transitional period of 3 months to opt out of the UPC jurisdiction before the actual start of the Court’s operation. Such an opportunity will be provided in September, 2017.

It has been underlined that the mentioned timeframes are approximate and may change depending on a number of reasons. There also remains uncertainty on how the UK’s decision to leave the European Union will affect the overall Unitary Patent system and the Unified Patent Court taking into consideration the fact that the United Kingdom is one of the key members.

Stay with us to be updated on the matter. We will inform you of any further developments.

 

 

Author: Lynda Miller
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